The Hon. Chaminda Wijesiri

¶ 01 Madam Presiding Member, my Private Member’s Motion was seconded by Hon. (Mrs.) Rohini Kumari Wijerathna—a teacher by profession, elected in 2015 and serving in both the Eighth and Ninth Parliaments. With deep commitment to education and out of respect for the free education she received despite hardships, she continues to fight for necessary reforms. She highlighted current issues at the University of Vocational Technology and other universities, and made proposals to your Government to address them. I thank her.

¶ 02 Hon. Thilanka U. Gamage—a young, learned Member—clearly recognized the value of this field and the needs within the technological universities, and outlined how your Government intends to act. He addressed human resource and capital needs and the value of education and labour. Representing the Government, he acknowledged the issues within my proposal and stood firmly to correct them. I appreciate that.

¶ 03 Hon. Deputy Minister, you have long engaged with universities and national issues, and I welcome the provisions you are extending to the university system—both human and other resources. Your speech will help inform our people who were unaware. I appreciate your rural outreach mechanism, Hon. Minister, but exercise care—some officials may misuse well-intentioned programmes, as we saw with “Clean Sri Lanka.” Still, I respect your stance and your engagement with this proposal.

¶ 04 Our only significant resource is human capital. Your speech offered pathways for the youth to realize their dreams. Though we in the Opposition and you in Government may sit on different sides, we hoped for action beyond mere speeches. Too often, proposals stop at debate. We urge you to implement, so that in two or three years we can commend you for results rather than revisit problems.

¶ 05 There is another problem: the mental state of our people. Many at different levels are driven to take their own lives. Why has this mindset deteriorated? In many cases, society has not delivered justice. When suicides occur, notes or messages often explain causes; but increasingly, questions remain and social problems are left behind. This is a grave national condition. Reforming education can help reduce such tragedies.

¶ 06 I thank the Hon. Deputy Minister and all Members for their contributions.

¶ 07 Question put, and agreed to.