The Hon. Rauff Hakeem, Attorney-at-Law

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, I am pleased to speak concluding for the Opposition. Education reform is a timely necessity recognized by all. We appreciate that the Prime Minister has proceeded on substance rather than personalities, appointing a broad-minded academic to chair the National Education Commission and a knowledgeable academic to lead the National Institute of Education (NIE). Our praise, however, is accompanied by constructive criticism.

¶ 02 There are concerns circulating—particularly about History and Aesthetics—which the Government denies are being removed. The Prime Minister said yesterday that all religions will be taught to all students, but there is talk that a well-prepared, pluralistically sound Religion and Ethics curriculum framework by the NIE has been sidelined by the Ministry under pressure from a “Mahamevuna” group. We seek clarity on this. Please respond in your reply.

¶ 03 This reform to shift from an exam-centric culture to module- and assessment-based learning has been in the works for a long time. While you have moved to introduce it within six to seven months in office, it did not happen overnight. Please acknowledge the foundational work—by former Education Secretary Dr. Upali Sedara and former NIE Director-General Dr. Sunil Jayantha Navaratne, among many national and international contributors.

¶ 04 We also ask: where is the White Paper? Publishing it would enable wider public critique and discussion. Without it, there is suspicion that the NPP Government seeks to brand the reform as its own “brainchild.”

¶ 05 On modules review: ensure review is conducted by independent experts, not the same authors, and avoid ad hoc changes by Ministry officials without requisite subject expertise.

¶ 06 Regarding religion textbooks, again, there are reports that a “Mahamevuna” group overturned pluralist content. We await your clarification.

¶ 07 Beyond reforms, I raise practical issues: In Nawalapitiya, St. Mary’s College tried to build primary facilities and enroll students but remains stalled; “Al Safa” school had to function for a long time in a railway storehouse despite land being allocated—please resolve these with the Provincial/Zonal offices.

¶ 08 Many school buildings in Central, Sabaragamuwa and Uva Provinces are affected by landslides; in the Central Province alone, over 50 buildings are unusable. Through the Climate-Resilient Infrastructure Project, please allocate funds for repairs. Schools such as Adiayakadawatha Muslim Vidyalaya, 66 Vidyalaya, Qoomwn, and Zahira Vidyalaya Gampola face risk and need new buildings.

¶ 09 On higher education: we both served on a Select Committee where you filed a dissent based on ideology. We urge you to reconsider certain positions in line with global trends. Prof. Mohan De Silva has shown that Sri Lanka is second only to China in student numbers going to the UK for medical education, despite our small population. Recently, at Kotelawala Defence University, a sudden decision not to recruit local medical students was reversed. Many countries, including Vietnam and China, allow private medical schools. We should accommodate private medical education to position Sri Lanka as a higher education destination and to stem foreign exchange outflows.

¶ 10 Thank you.