Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees

¶ 01 I wish to first draw your attention to the fundamental purpose of education.

¶ 02 Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees, from early humankind’s first discoveries—such as fire—to this moment we speak today, human advancement can be described as a gradual flow through education. The transmission of knowledge about plants, about living beings, and about the earth to the next generation is the process that has brought the developed human to this point.

¶ 03 Hon. Deputy Chairperson, I wish to quote from the National People’s Power’s policy statement “A Prosperous Country, a Beautiful Life”: “Education is a cultural process that, by assimilating and sharing the knowledge produced by all past and present social stages, produces new knowledge.”

¶ 04 Hon. Deputy Chairperson, the civility of a society—something we experience and which has been questioned even within this Chamber—and the human moral qualities of a society are primarily a result of the education process of that country or society. But we know the fate of our education today. Hon. Deputy Chairperson, amidst many crises, the most tragic outcome is the impediment to children’s learning due to economic hardships. Data and analysis show clearly that many of our children drop out after entering Grade One. This is a tragic social condition. In recent times, we discussed these problems with teachers. They asked us, as public representatives, to convey to the next generation the importance and value of education and learning in this country.

¶ 05 Hon. Deputy Chairperson, in our schools today, the children are largely of two generations often described as Gen Z or the Alpha generation. They engage in learning where there is attraction and interest. However, there is a gulf between these factors and the whole education process in our country. Beyond competitive exams, a foremost aim of education is to produce citizens with balanced character by fostering soft skills. Therefore, the proposed supplementary allocation of Rs. 6,000 for the new school term is a short-term solution to help navigate today’s severe crisis. Our long-term goal is a humane person formed through a compassionate education process rich in social responsibility and human relations. Also, at no time should the extent of parents’ wealth determine the extent of a child’s education.

¶ 06 We also observe misuse of titles obtained through education. While the public has every right to question our rectitude, we, too, have questions when some public representatives who question our conduct themselves misuse titles.

¶ 07 There are many lawyers here. We know, as per Hon. Harshana Nanayakkara’s position, “Attorney” as a title in Sri Lanka does not exist in the sense used abroad. Yet, even within this Parliament, in the Opposition, an “Attorney-at-Law” title is being used. Hon. Chamindranee Kiriella, MP, I wish to ask: where did you obtain the qualifications for the “Attorney-at-Law” title prior to 1973? Wherever you obtained a qualification in the world, the title “Attorney-at-Law” as used in Sri Lanka has a specific legal meaning.

¶ 08 Hon. Deputy Chairperson, to conclude, I wish to give a message to our children: Dear children of our nation, learn, learn more. Be like a five-branched coral tree—strive for the fullest yield of education. See the world; experience how vast it is. Win for yourself, and win for the country. Thank you.