The Hon. (Dr.) Madhura Senevirathna - Deputy Minister of Education and Higher Education

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chair, it is a special honour to join this important debate on the Heads of Expenditure of the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education. A maiden Budget after a change of Government is special; it sets the path—the road map—for our economic policy. A Budget is not a stone inscription; it can change with context and time, but it indicates our direction. We consider this a special moment.

¶ 02 On education, Sri Lanka has had a continuous tradition—long before 76 years—dating back 2,000 years with pirivena education, Nalanda University over a millennium ago, and colonial systems later. Despite upheavals, our literacy remained high due to this continuity. A key landmark was free education—a unique boon.

¶ 03 Education develops knowledge, skills and attitudes. In shaping policy, we look at history. In 1971, Dr. N.M. Perera, in his Budget speech, made commendable points: take education to the periphery and implement Kannangara’s policy. However, there was no focus on technology and vocational education, no long-term road map or sustainability.

¶ 04 In 1978, Ronnie de Mel presented a very different Budget with emphasis on technical education for industrialization, but then free education and periphery outreach were neglected. The 1977 transformation—the Thatcher-Reagan type shift—also commodified education, causing confusion about priorities and creating an exam-centric system demanding white-collar jobs—an unhealthy turn.

¶ 05 In 2015, focus was on ICT, but again without sustainability. So we are trapped in policies lacking continuity, sustainability and balance.

¶ 06 Today, children lack childhood. A child is not a small adult. Because of exam burdens, they lose time with friends and formative experiences. As adults, their attitudes and reasoning reflect this loss; deficits in soft skills appear, and they enter society as isolated individuals—unfortunate. We must change this—start somewhere. One major task is to shift higher education towards generating global employability—valuing human capital and building a large labour force for both Sri Lanka and the world.

¶ 07 At the same time, we must build citizenship—public responsibilities and common duties—starting from early childhood, ages 3–5, when the brain and personality develop. We have drafted a pre-school education policy and are implementing plans for early childhood development.

¶ 08 What are these reforms? We aim to draw out each child’s abilities so they can go where they wish, producing the citizens we need. Special education is also central. Many who changed the world had special educational needs in childhood. If we provide proper special education, they can become scientists or transformative figures; if not, the risk of them becoming social dependents is high. Therefore we are strengthening special education units and increasing investment—this Budget is a first step to harness the strengths of children with special needs.

¶ 09 The National Education Commission has prepared a regulatory framework to oversee private and international schools; it will be implemented with expert input.

¶ 10 On the Grade 5 Scholarship Exam: its necessity arises due to unequal distribution of human and physical resources. When equality comes, the exam will fade. We are in transition; until then, it will remain. We hope the day equality arrives comes soon; then society itself will deem the exam unnecessary.