The Hon. Madhura Senevirathna - Deputy Minister of Education and Higher Education

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees, I will respond to several questions raised by the Hon. Member. In particular, issues of infrastructure and the distribution of human resources are problems common across districts in Sri Lanka, and, as mentioned, they also exist in the estates. There is a problem of uneven distribution of human resources and infrastructure in the estates. In establishing primary and secondary schools with proper criteria, there is no special category called “estate schools.” We are aware there are transport difficulties. Therefore, beyond the Ministry of Education, we obtain views from coordination committees — including Divisional Secretaries — and take decisions regarding schools to be developed.

¶ 02 Next, we recruited assistant teachers. They render a great service to the estates. The idea was to absorb them into the teacher service within five years, in line with the Teacher Service constitution. However, due to ongoing court proceedings, we cannot at this moment absorb them into the Teacher Service. Once the legal process concludes, we believe we can proceed accordingly. Thank you.