The Hon. Jeevan Thondaman

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees, thank you for the opportunity.

¶ 02 Education reform is the need of the hour. Many governments spoke of it; delivery lagged. Your current proposals are welcome—the test is implementation.

¶ 03 C.W.W. Kannangara’s free education is acknowledged, but the Hill Country Tamil community—represented by me and the Hon. Minister seated up front—was denied its benefits for decades. From 1945 to 1977, estate schools, run by companies with the State, offered only up to Grade 5. After sustained pressure and political leadership in 1977, the State took over. Today there are schools in every estate, but infrastructure is lacking. Funding for the Hills has long been inadequate under governments of all stripes. Building a single school can cost Rs. 550 million; yet in 2020, the total Hill allocation was about Rs. 3,000 million. Building a few schools does not solve systemic deficits. We must seek solutions, not subsist on sporadic concessions.

¶ 04 For 1945–1977, Hill Country Tamils lacked educational, housing, and even citizenship rights. Boundaries and GN Divisions were demarcated during periods when our people lacked citizenship, excluding them from representation. This legacy continues to affect us.

¶ 05 A recent Gazette by the National Youth Services Council limits one youth club per GN division. Estates span GN divisions; many communities will lose representation. I urge the Government and the Hon. Minister to address Cabinet and withdraw that Gazette.

¶ 06 We are all Sri Lankans, equal in dignity. But equity—not mere equality—is what Hill Country Tamils need. Building houses in the Hills is prohibitively expensive under current fiscal constraints. With 251,000 families, constructing only a few hundred houses a year will not transform lives. Housing handouts are concessions, not solutions. Secure land tenure is the solution. We do not ask for tea fields or managers’ bungalows—only the plots where people currently live. With title, families will build their own homes over time. Land rights are unconditional; issuing deeds for already-built units is not land rights but house ownership. True land title is what changes a community’s prospects.

¶ 07 On the Clean Sri Lanka programme: renovating 75 “line rooms” is not a solution when thousands exist. Moreover, most credit for public works in estates accrues to Regional Plantation Companies via the Plantation Human Development Trust (PHDT). PHDT’s Board includes RPC CEOs; taxpayer money funds works, yet companies claim on their websites to have “built 44,000 houses,” taking credit while exploiting workers and damaging the Ceylon Tea brand. This must be examined. The Government should ensure that public investment in estates is transparently credited to the State and people, not misattributed to companies.

¶ 08 Education reforms must therefore be resourced equitably for the Hills, strengthen provincial delivery, and be paired with structural solutions—especially land rights—so our youth can truly benefit.

¶ 09 Thank you.