The Hon. Susantha Dodawatta, Attorney-at-Law

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, at a time we are debating a Supplementary Estimate to grant an allowance for school stationery—and with many schoolchildren in the gallery—I consider it a privilege to address the Tenth Parliament.

¶ 02 Providing allowances now to underprivileged children is essential. But let us note: stationery is a basic physical need in education. The present necessity arises because of the condition to which past rulers dragged our education system; some who supported those policies still sit here.

¶ 03 Education is an investment. As Yuval Noah Harari said: “Education is the best investment humans can make in themselves, not to accumulate data, but to develop mental resilience and emotional intelligence to face the uncertain future.” The State spends taxpayers’ money on education; parents spend their money, time, and labour; and children invest years of their lives. The question: has this investment yielded results?

¶ 04 Unemployment reached 4.7 percent in 2023. By 2024, 1,184,416 are employed as three-wheeler drivers—often unrelated to their education. Another 4.4 percent work in jobs mismatched to their qualifications. This shows we have not achieved expected outcomes; education has not been purposefully aligned to identified skills and pathways.

¶ 05 An Opposition MP before me shed crocodile tears over education. The Government he represented introduced the National Education Policy Framework to reduce the State’s burden in education and facilitate the State’s withdrawal.

¶ 06 Our current Government’s policy is the opposite: to assume, in the future, the full burden of education that now rests on the public. The financial, time, and labour burdens on families have adversely affected the productive economy; reducing that will benefit the economy. We will also direct children above Grade 9 into vocational education, creating a skilled generation to strengthen the economy.

¶ 07 The primary aim of education is to produce fulfilled, empathetic citizens with a developed cultural and moral fabric. Our politics has failed here. If our system produced such citizens, then in cases like the bond scam—where public funds were misused—there would not be attempts to justify it with publications. Similarly, duty-evading vehicle registrations deprived the State of revenue for education, health, and essentials—yet cases are not pursued.

¶ 08 Under our Government, education will be developed, and through it, the productive economy we envisage will be strengthened. As mandated by the people, we will build a prosperous country and a dignified life by nurturing empathetic, morally grounded citizens.

¶ 09 Thank you.