The Hon. Wasantha Samarasinghe - Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees, we are discussing a very important topic—education reforms—at a very important moment. Previously, we discussed and dialogued in this House on many occasions. When preparations began to introduce reforms, the Opposition tried to create a narrative that our education would end. They did not stop at education; they dragged religion into it, and distorted cultural, physical and biological diversity. They even showed colour palettes in books and said “these are the colours of the LGBT flag,” claiming “seeing these colours will make children turn gay.” I even heard someone at the Opposition Leader’s office say, “What if my daughter comes home with another girl?”—spreading the lowest level of falsehoods without understanding basic biological realities.

¶ 02 Who is the Leader of the Opposition? A person aspiring to govern must have responsibility. Recently, he held up the Grade 6 Buddhism book and said even the Dharma Chakra had been changed to the Ashoka Chakra. Before saying that in the House, the least he could have done was check. This is a shameless act of dragging religion into a political conspiracy to derail reforms. The Dharma Chakra he referred to has long been used by the Sangha and religious bodies, even for Sambuddhathva Jayanthi commemorations. Yet he came here and lied, and his team amplified it. That is their political plan to delay reforms.

¶ 03 He also said ICT is taught from Grade 1 to 12 globally. That is false. He spoke of a White Paper and implied if we had issued one he would have cooperated—yet he peddles lies even here. He questioned AI teaching; it is taught per the syllabus. If he checked, even for a minute he would have known and refrained from falsehoods.

¶ 04 As for ICT worldwide: in the US (state-dependent), Grades 1–3 emphasize digital literacy; more common formal ICT instruction starts later. In the UK, significant curriculum changes came around 2014; Singapore introduces it around Grade 3 (ages 8–10); Japan around Grade 5 since 2020; Germany between Grades 5–7; India, Bangladesh and Pakistan start around Grade 6. We too proposed starting at Grade 6, based on sound reasoning: to align with secondary education onset, lab needs, and children’s readiness. Our primary (Grades 1–5) emphasizes literacy, numeracy and languages; secondary begins at Grade 6, where ICT fits.

¶ 05 On infrastructure: we acknowledge constraints. Unlike the US, UK or Japan, we lack full facilities everywhere. The Opposition held power in 2015; why did they not start then? Instead, what did they do with SLIIT under the Mahapola Trust? In early 2015, the Mahapola Trust Fund accounts had Rs. 1,085 million; by May 2015, they had taken steps that effectively alienated SLIIT from public ownership. That was their “logic.”

¶ 06 Grade 6 is ideal for starting ICT in countries like ours due to children’s mental readiness and schools’ managerial capacity. Teachers must be able to manage classes and resources effectively.

¶ 07 Hon. Minister Anura Karunathilaka has afforded me three more minutes—thank you, Madam.

¶ 08 The Opposition keeps lying about reforms. We must develop infrastructure and recruit teachers. From 2016, they did not recruit teachers and denied pension rights to recruits. At our last Cabinet, we reversed clauses in appointment letters to ensure pension entitlements. We are recruiting 100,000 to the public service; appointment letters must reflect pensions.

¶ 09 The Opposition did not bring this Adjournment to strengthen reforms but for politics. Reforms are to move society forward—no one is going “back to school.” These are for our children. The Opposition Leader cited “asabhakaranaya” with an example: a website “puddy.net” in the Grade 6 English module. This is one example; to use Parliament to propagate lies and mislead society is wrong. We are investigating whether this was a minor lapse or part of a political conspiracy. Our Ministers will further clarify.

¶ 10 Many stratagems were tried to block reforms—using a website claim, alleging “vulgarization,” claiming colours in books are “pride flag colours” that will “turn” children. Human beings selecting partners is a biological reality; to claim colours change orientation is absurd. This was a political conspiracy to wreck the reforms for our children’s future. Some in the Opposition now say they support reforms—hence the Cabinet decided to defer and address issues.

¶ 11 We saw attempts to mislead mothers and children. We know our development level and how education has spread. There are about 5,000 schools with under 200 students; all need facilities. We must equip every child to be part of education and not let any child drop out.

¶ 12 We decided to teach every child across the whole country equally—North, South, East and West—and ensure no child leaves education. Some in the Opposition want to take a segment away; they once said, “If everyone studies, there will be no one to cut coconuts.” The world now seeks to live on Mars—not to hook the moon. We must give our children practical education to move with the world. When we began reforms, some tried to trip us. Not all in the Opposition signed the no-confidence motion; an intellectual dialogue would not start with a no-confidence motion. The Opposition Leader should have said: reforms are needed; instead of opposing, let us correct shortcomings. He signed a motion and is now stuck with it because even his partners are not on board.

¶ 13 We pledged, with President Anura Dissanayake and Prime Minister/Minister Harini Amarasuriya, to bring these reforms, led by Minister Harini. We will improve infrastructure, curricula and human resources, recruit teachers, and conduct public awareness. While defeating the Opposition’s political conspiracy, we will implement the 2026 Grade 6 reforms and raise all children through sustained action. I conclude.

¶ 14 Thank you, Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees.