The Hon. Anura Karunathilaka

¶ 01 I will take three more minutes, Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees.

¶ 02 Those who say you must have a smart board in the classroom to teach these modules are not telling the truth. We know, however, that some schools have sent letters to parents saying smart boards are required. Hon. State Minister, the Ministry should inquire into this.

¶ 03 Without a circular or instruction from the Ministry, which irresponsible principals acted in this manner; who burdened parents to purchase smart boards? Identify them and take appropriate action.

¶ 04 Our Hon. Leader of the Opposition said that there are no computers to teach Information and Communication Technology, so including it is wrong. Hon. Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe made a statement on this. But in my hand is the ICT textbook printed six years earlier. When was this started? The first print was in 2015. Who was in power from 2015? As far as I know, he was a Minister in that Government, not the Leader of the Opposition. Did he then say there are no computers in every school so we cannot teach ICT and therefore this book is wrong? No, he did not.

¶ 05 Yes, there are shortcomings. We cannot keep good things away from children until all infrastructure arrives. Therefore, we have allocated funds this year to provide smart boards. We are implementing this. By March, we have arranged to provide smart boards to around 1,600 schools. We believe that, in the time ahead, by securing necessary funds, we can provide at least one digital device to every school.

¶ 06 Some also say that with these education reforms — especially implementing modules — our education will deviate from the Commonwealth framework, and then our children cannot enter foreign universities. Hon. Deputy Chairperson, one key Commonwealth standard is 13 years of school education; another is the G.C.E. O/L and A/L examinations. Under our proposed reforms, both O/L and A/L continue as national examinations; there is no change in that. Next, there is the Sri Lanka Qualifications Framework (SLQF) with 12 levels. These reforms do not affect SLQF Level 12 in any way. Therefore, there is no deviation from Commonwealth standards or framework through these proposals.

¶ 07 Some say these reforms were not designed by this Government but by others. As I stated, there have been prolonged discussions on education reform. As the National People’s Power, we too discussed and proposed structural changes — as set out in our policy “A Prosperous Country – A Beautiful Life”: segments for Grades 1–5; 6–9; 10–11; and 12–13; and a national skills test at Grade 9. We also proposed integrating general and vocational education because about 48% of our children leave without even completing O/Ls, joining society without skills or experience. Our reform process includes opportunities to channel those less inclined towards general education into vocational pathways.

¶ 08 Finally, some speak on this without understanding its objectives or content; others, even knowing, criticize to advance narrow aims. With the confidence of the great majority, we will take these reforms forward to change the future of our children and our country. Thank you.