The Hon. (Dr.) Harini Amarasuriya - Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, I thank all who remember a T-shirt I wore in 2011-2012. The 6 percent is an international benchmark recommended by UNESCO as a minimum for education. We began that struggle in 2011. From 2011 to 2024, others governed and allocated funds; they could have moved toward 6 percent but did not. When we assumed office, education spending stood around 1.04 percent of GDP. We increased it in our first Budget and again in the second. We have demonstrated movement toward the 6 percent target. Those who presided over declines now ask why it is not 6 percent already. Our position is clear: we are acting, not merely speaking, and our policy statement sets out a plan to progressively reach 6 percent over the coming years. We have calculated the path of incremental increases for the next and subsequent years and will stay the course.