The Hon. Sajith Premadasa - Leader of the Opposition

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, I am pleased to join today’s debate on education reforms we must undertake. A concept paper is essential for a constructive and high-quality debate. We are fortunate to have one today. Typically, under the Westminster model, a Green Paper (a preliminary consultation document) is first issued, followed by a White Paper presenting final government proposals, still open to adjustments. I urge Government to proceed beyond a PowerPoint and table a full concept paper to anchor progressive education reform.

¶ 02 The Samagi Jana Balawegaya has already prepared and presented our concept paper at the Presidential and General Elections as part of our social contract. We accept it must be updated. Educational transformation should be target- and goal-oriented, time-targeted, with a clear timetable and precise timeline. As Nelson Mandela said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Let us proceed in that spirit.

¶ 03 The current system is outdated, trapped in old frameworks. Education is a fundamental human right. If you are reforming or replacing the Constitution, enshrine education, health, livelihood, the right to life, and economic, social, cultural, religious and political rights as human rights. Modernization of education is essential for Sri Lanka’s development. We need smart education to build smart schools, smart students, smart youth, smart citizens and a smart country.

¶ 04 We must move away from rote learning and memorization to producing problem-solving citizens capable of addressing multidimensional national and global challenges. ICT must be integral. Expand STEM to STEAM—Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics. English-medium options should be expanded beyond a few schools to the entire system. New technological domains—Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Quantum Computing, Augmented and Virtual Reality, and Machine Learning—must reach our children to truly secure their educational human rights.