The Hon. (Mrs.) Rohini Kumari Wijerathna

¶ 01 This was written while concealing who authored it, but after the mistake was exposed, it appears that he “went to the gallows.” We do not know whether, because of his own party, Mr. Darshana Samarawira willingly put his head on the block. But that was a king’s-court style judgement. If we are to talk about modules going forward, let us talk about that.

¶ 02 Hon. Deputy Minister Madhura Senevirathna, this is for you to hear. There are shortcomings at the NIE. Many shortcomings. They must be corrected. The defects that are inherent there must be addressed. Things must be systematized, suitable people recruited, and vacancies filled. For years those officers have not had foreign training; their knowledge, skills, and attitudes have not been developed or updated, and no overseas or in-country expert training has been arranged. If we are to change the saying “milk to the world, snake gourd to Lanka,” those implementing reforms must see the world and understand how reforms are executed elsewhere—or at least those drafting them must be given that exposure. We need a discussion on how these reforms are to be brought.

¶ 03 Educational reform is not this module alone, is it, Hon. Deputy Minister? A “module” is only a tenth of it. This morning, the Deputy Minister of Labour conflated a website listed in the 2015 Technical curriculum textbook with the website that appears in the English module. The 2015 Technical curriculum textbook refers to ebuddy.net. The English module cites a different web address—it is a URL of another kind—so do not conflate the two; that is wrong. In the Technical textbook, “buddy” is mentioned as a tool. In English, the word is not bad; “buddy” means “companion” or “friend.” But the Deputy Minister misled society. Without examining the facts, he made a statement that is gravely irresponsible. By his standard, we would have to debate with Malalasekara’s Sinhala Dictionary and the Oxford English Dictionary as well, since “buddy” appears in those dictionaries.

¶ 04 A module is a small unit within a large system; in education, a small unit in a course; sometimes even part of a lesson. A module’s features include independent functionality, standardization, interoperability, and exchangeability. If defective, the entire system need not be discarded; only the module can be replaced. Therefore, I say to society: this “module” is only a tenth of the educational reforms being introduced. Beyond that lies a vast system—that is what these educational reforms are.

¶ 05 Since morning, five pillars have been discussed: - Curriculum revision - Human resource development - Physical resources and infrastructure, and administrative reform in education - Assessment and evaluation - Public awareness and promotion

¶ 06 The module falls under curriculum revision. To write these, there must be trained resource persons and subject advisors. But here there was chaos; they picked whoever occurred to them. For example, the English module was written by a few people the section head had seen in Anuradhapura—this is not inherently wrong, but who was entrusted with the task? What was the NIE’s process to select resource persons?

¶ 07 It should have been like this: comb the country and get the best team—professionals who are skilled, creative, and able to write. Give them proper training—local or foreign, abroad or by bringing experts here. When was such training given? Was it given at all? You may say these should have been done by previous governments, but I say this too: there was a National Education Policy Framework then. You threw it in the dustbin and rushed headlong, which is why this went wrong and the process lacked due order. That is why we face this problem today.

¶ 08 When Hon. Susil Premajayantha was Minister, in the Kalutara pilot project, the English module did not have the website error you cite. So this occurred later. Since morning it’s been said that, in such module compilation, there are writing, proofreading, and editorial panels, an Academic Affairs Board, and the NIE’s Governing Council under 14116.

¶ 09 Let me show what appears in some books: the History textbook was authored, reviewed, and edited by several people—such errors would have been caught. I table the relevant documents in the House.

¶ 10 Likewise, if the person who wrote the English module erred, it should have been caught at review; failing that, at editing; failing that, at the Academic Affairs Board with subject experts; failing that, by the NIE Governing Council, the DG, and the Secretary to the Ministry of Education who chairs it. Yet the Chair remains in his seat; the DG and DDG have been sent home; the scapegoat is elsewhere.

¶ 11 What fairness is this? It is regrettable. If the Secretary to the Ministry of Education comes to this Chamber where public officers stand accounted, it is shameful. How did you alone escape?

¶ 12 If only the English module erred, why withdraw the other 13 modules? If the only issue was the wrong website in the English module, why scrap the whole book system? The President has answered this on his Facebook page, stating that due to conceptual issues in module development, delays in teacher training, and technical problems, the reforms are postponed until 2027. It is not the Opposition; it is the President who postponed it. Why? Because beyond what society highlighted, there were further errors evident. Secretary, the fault lies with your management. Lower officials in the Ministry are now in turmoil, because when the Secretary blunders, it is those officials who are punished, and work stalls. Funds were spent, yet ministry work does not proceed—these must be rectified.

¶ 13 Second pillar: human resources. There is a shortage of 43,000 teachers. There are 16,000 Development Officers; now you seek to remove them too. Even if 23,000 were recruited, a further 20,000 teachers are lacking. Then how do you bring reforms to students without teachers trained in the relevant subjects? Hon. Moolasana Aroond (Hon. Presiding Member), as a teacher you may know: in remote provinces, there are no trained Mathematics teachers to teach Mathematics, nor trained English teachers to teach English. Hon. Minister Bowsers, then in assessment, how will the key concepts in Mathematics you speak of be delivered? These are the issues we face.

¶ 14 On subjects: all teachers of Grades 1 and 6 must be trained. Was such training done recently? A selected few were trained for three days. Assessment is a new system. This is not SBA; it is SLAS, and it intends to give a GPA. Then proper training is essential. Were principals trained? In Matale, the only “training” for principals was a meeting addressed for three hours by the Minister of Education, the DG of NIE, and now the interdicted Director General “Bowls.” Were Teacher Instructors trained? They are the ones who take knowledge, skills, and procedures from government to teachers and disseminate in schools. The country must be told how many days they were trained. That is how human resource development was handled.

¶ 15 On infrastructure and administrative reforms: you plan to close schools with fewer than 50 students—this is within the reforms. Society is not discussing these now. If you close schools with fewer than 50 students, what is the mechanism? The children remaining are from vulnerable families who cannot travel to towns. Will the school dropout rate decrease or increase? What happens to poor children? Are we not closing the path for them to enter society?

¶ 16 In Grade 6 Information Technology, Lesson 1 is “A journey with the computer.” The objective is to familiarize the child with the mouse and keyboard. How many schools in this country have computers for every Grade 6 child to learn? Or do homes have computers? According to the Ministry of Digital Technology, only 37 percent of households engage in internet activities. Then the government must intervene to provide devices; otherwise resource disparities in the school system will persist. In Grade 1, teachers’ guides list 43 QR codes. You do not buy them; you must scan and display them. Do schools have the resources to do that? These are the gaps we must discuss and address, with provisions across the five pillars.

¶ 17 Most important is assessment and evaluation. Now it is said there will be no exams. I need to know: will there be no examinations for O/L, A/L, and the Scholarship exam? If teachers allocate 70 percent of marks, how is the remaining 30 given? This becomes a school-level assessment. Are teachers trained for this? We are a country that failed at School-Based Assessments—SBAs. If teachers now conduct SLA the way they did SBAs, can we achieve the expectations of these reforms?

¶ 18 I will conclude. If a Grade Point Average—GPA—is used, then the Department of Examinations must be accountable for it. The National Institute of Education must provide direction. If O/L certificates are awarded on GPA, A/L certificates on GPA, university admissions on GPA, and even the Scholarship by GPA, how will the Department of Examinations be accountable for marks given by teachers?

¶ 19 Order, please! Is the House agreeable to extend time until today’s debate is concluded?

¶ 20 Hon. Members: Aye.

¶ 21 Hon. Presiding Member: Hon. Member, please continue.

¶ 22 Therefore, where will the Department of Examinations assume responsibility for marks given by teachers? At what point does the Department see those marks?

¶ 23 We know students come from varying strata and subcultures. I speak from the teacher’s perspective. Hon. Deputy Minister, tell me how the Department will be accountable under this marking method. Earlier, the National Education Policy Framework envisaged a linkage with the Department of Examinations across the nine provinces through HE units. Now without such linkages, what happens? Teachers could face death threats—parents alleging low marks or claiming their child is more capable.

¶ 24 Conclude now, Hon. Member.

¶ 25 Even if our teachers would not take bribes, attempts could be made. I speak from the teacher’s side; they need protection because under this method teachers are vulnerable. From the child’s side, where does a child challenge a grade? Today, a child can apply for re-correction. Under GPA, how will a child question their score? You know the current evaluation is tripartite: student, teacher, and evaluator. In paper marking, each script is seen by multiple examiners. Under this emerging system, we must redesign. With a shortage of 43,000 teachers, how will assessment be done? Do we have subject-appropriate teachers? As I said, often non-specialists teach; then how will concepts be delivered?

¶ 26 Please conclude, Hon. Member.

¶ 27 Give me a minute to conclude. How will you assess within a period when there are 50–60 children in a class? Also, if the 16,000 Development Officers are removed, how will it be done? I have a question to the Secretary: there is a case concerning 16,000 Development Officers on the 29th. Depending on the judgement, they could be removed or absorbed. Yet you are asking them to leave now, after giving them three days of training. How did you train, with public funds, a group not belonging to the Ministry of Education? That is misuse of funds.

¶ 28 Today the issue is public awareness and promotion. From day one of speaking about reforms, privately and publicly, we asked that the public be informed. Check the minutes. The resistance stems from the lack of public awareness. This is the very era that needs reform; so it must be done. The Leader of the Opposition, I, and all in our team said in all committees that reforms must proceed, but with transparency.

¶ 29 Please conclude your speech, Hon. Member.

¶ 30 Allow me two concluding sentences, Hon. Presiding Member. Hand this to competent scholars and discuss anew. I read in the papers the President saying that university professors, doctors, and scholars should have an open dialogue to fix deficiencies and move forward. That is good. If local experts are not enough, there are Sri Lankans abroad—including scholars who worked with the NPP. Give it to them.

¶ 31 In conclusion: it was not the Opposition that halted educational reforms. Proceed with reforms. When walking a narrow path, we pointed out the pitfalls in all committees. Ignoring that led to today’s blunder. On the 13th and 21st, in meetings with him, these shortcomings were seen—hence the pause. Otherwise, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya would never support halting educational reforms in this country. I state that clearly.