The Hon. M.A.M. Thahir

¶ 01 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

¶ 02 Hon. Presiding Member, thank you for the opportunity to speak on the Education Ministry’s Head. I appreciate the Rs. 6,000 cash support for students to purchase footwear and stationery, and I pray this Government will bring major positive changes in education.

¶ 03 Free education risks becoming accessible mainly to the economically better-off. Among reasons is transfers: teachers are moved across zones and districts under various schemes, making them commute long distances, limiting meaningful engagement with students. What used to be affectionate, attentive teaching has become hurried “emergency” teaching. Consequently, students flock to tuition; Grade 5 scholarship tuition centres are like marketplaces, streets crowded as students enter and exit. We must reform this.

¶ 04 In Ampara District, the 2025 allocations for education are about half of 2024’s. On what basis was this reduced? I ask the House.

¶ 05 Education starts with preschool admission. Today, after completing O/L, A/L or a diploma in Early Childhood, individuals set up preschools in sheds or makeshift structures at home using tin sheets and basic furniture, turning it into a “cottage” enterprise due to lack of alternative employment. In doing so, we collectively fail in the proper formation of future generations. This exists in every Member’s constituency. The Ministry should create a proper plan: in developed countries, preschool teachers are specially qualified and appointed; only then will we see quality outputs in later years.

¶ 06 Schools also face infrastructure gaps — buildings and furniture. Recently, in several schools I visited, even girls in Grades 4 and 5 face difficulties...