The Hon. Nalin Hewage
Nalin Hewage stated that planned education reforms for Grades 1 and 6 in 2026 were postponed by one year due to controversy and alleged misinformation raised by the Opposition, including claims about the Dharmachakra in the reforms. He said the Government and Ministry decided not to proceed in a sensitive area such as education while any concerns remained, and attributed responsibility for the delay and its impact on children to the Opposition and the Leader of the Opposition.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Member, parents had high expectations for new reforms because the existing system is burdensome. We planned to introduce reforms in 2026 for Grade 1 and Grade 6. The Opposition, especially the Leader of the Opposition, even in Parliament, claimed that the Dharmachakra included in the reforms was wrong. That Dharmachakra was introduced by the Condensed Tripitaka Council chaired by the Most Venerable Balangoda Ananda Maithriya Nayaka Thera and other Sangha elders. Without understanding the facts, they acted very basely. They also attempted a no-confidence motion against the Prime Minister, creating instability. As the Ministry and as the Government we decided that in a sensitive area like education, it is not good to introduce reforms with even minor shortcomings. Therefore, we postponed by a year. We believe the responsibility for depriving those children lies with the Opposition led by the Leader of the Opposition.
Provenance
- Source
- Hansard, Wednesday, 20 May 2026 ·No. 23618 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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/lk/speeches/19188
Cite as: The Hon. Nalin Hewage. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 20 May 2026. No. 23618. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/19188