The Hon. (Mrs.) Rohini Kumari Wijerathna

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, when C. W. W. Kannangara brought his free education policy, he said:

¶ 02 “Do not act like people who cannot see the day or the night.”

¶ 03 In reforms, we cannot be blind. We must discuss with experts, scholars and subject specialists and proceed.

¶ 04 We are in the 21st century, 25 years in. Generations before and after me learned under the same system, but it no longer fits the world. Since 1978, when Ranil Wickremesinghe as Minister brought the White Paper, and later Ministers Bandula Gunawardena, S. B. Dissanayake, Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, and Susil Premajayantha attempted reforms. I am glad you have taken up the effort. We must realize it, regardless of who sits in which chair. We are already late. If the current presentation has gaps, we must fix them and proceed. As the Opposition, we will help. But education policy should not be framed by a political party manifesto.

¶ 05 The President today spoke of problems. People know we have problems; they need answers. Do these reforms provide answers or are they fairy tales? A key issue: we are speaking only of one of the five pillars — the curriculum. We must also discuss assessment, human resource development, infrastructure, administration and communication. For that we need a White Paper, or policy/concept paper, even if in presentation form, to set out: current status, target status, obstacles, and implementation methodology.

¶ 06 I saw a report that this is not a final document. A White Paper is not something cast in stone, but, Hon. Prime Minister, you said this is a “complete reform.” From what I see, this is focused on curriculum reform, not a complete reform. True, comprehensive reforms take 8-year cycles; have we done that preparatory work? Initial announcements from you and the Secretary caused anxiety among principals, teachers, directors and the public. That was a misunderstanding. There are good components — we should value them — including reducing examination burden. But many more things must be removed or changed. News reports say this is a collection of proposals since 2020. The President says problems have been identified and implementation will proceed. These are contradictory. We need consensus first.

¶ 07 Under the Yahapalana Government in 2019, an education reform programme began; it stalled 2020-22; resumed thereafter but halted due to elections. The ADB provided USD 400 million; USD 150 million remains. Use it. That work produced valuable documents by NIE experts using Ministry funds — the real reform. Parts of those are in your presentation. Let us use the best; do not worry about origins. But your presentation lacks detail on curriculum content. In a knowledge-exploding world, syllabi need updating every 8 years.

¶ 08 I recall Dr. Sunil Jayantha Navaratne’s renowned reform document during S. B. Dissanayake’s period, opposed then by many who now use some of it — including the tagline “Transform Education: Transform Sri Lanka.” Good — fix gaps and move ahead. I acknowledge the contributions of Prof. Upali Sedara, Dr. Darshana Samarawira, Ranjith Padmasiri and others who built frameworks like 3Ls, 4Cs+, and DLS for a 21st-century learner. I table related documents for the record.

¶ 09 If your document is not that, publish at least a Green or Purple Paper to set the path.

¶ 10 Clarifying terms: 3Ls are learning skills, literacy skills, life skills. Learning skills include critical thinking and problem solving. Five expected skills are creativity, innovative thinking, entrepreneurship, collaboration/teamwork and communication. Under literacy, we need information, technology, financial, inclusive, digital and AI literacy. Under CC (character and citizenship), attitudes, values and ethics must be developed to build non-self-centred citizens. SDL (self-directed learning) is essential so learners can update themselves and evaluate information critically in the social media age.

¶ 11 We must change mindsets and paradigms; teach children that models and paradigms can change and that old ways are not always right. Build a curriculum aligned to knowledge, skills, attitudes and mindsets, not simply to declare “we did it.” Publish how you will structure the other four pillars; then we can support. Otherwise, if reforms change every five years with party policies, it will be disastrous.

¶ 12 Other issues and proposals: - No costing is provided. Without strengthening the other four pillars, expected outcomes will not materialize. State how limited resources will be optimized. - Administration is the decisive pillar: present a rational governance and school network plan geographically and functionally; publish the administrative framework. - Human resources: specify teacher supply for core, elective, advanced and modular subjects. The 2023/2024 new science faculty gazette has not been issued; development officers’ issue remains unresolved; many schools rely on development officers; education graduates lack a clear path; there is a major teacher shortage. Provide solutions, or implementation will fail. - Subject competence: in difficult areas, often non-specialists teach subjects like English. Ensure a qualified teacher for each subject; publish recruitment and training policy. - Assessment: even the best curriculum fails without proper assessment. For the roughly 50 per cent who fail O/L, there is still no solution; we see discrimination. Offering NVQ certificates to those without higher education may mislead children; quantify labour market demand before issuing 250,000 NVQ certificates annually. - Technical and vocational training: prioritize TVET quality and status; avoid relegating it to a path only for those filtered out; remove stigmatizing language. The current proposal echoes long-standing ideas from earlier reform blueprints — give equal dignity to academic and technical pathways up to postgraduate level. School-based assessment must avoid paperwork overload; assign specialist teachers; ensure sound regulation.

¶ 13 On the Grade 5 Scholarship: if not abolished, explain how you will address the psychological burden on children, especially from low-income and under-resourced areas. If abolished, how will talented children from difficult areas access good schools? Will all schools be resourced equally?

¶ 14 We also need a proper teacher transfer policy so teachers can serve closer to home, and improved salaries and conditions.

¶ 15 Proceed with broad, open consultation. We are concerned there is no pilot; rolling out nationwide at once can create big problems. Thank you.