The Hon. Rajeevan Jeyachandramoorthy

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, I am pleased to join the Committee Stage Debate on the Ministry of Education.

¶ 02 Our people regard education as the greatest tool. Even during war, displacement, and bombings, they did not abandon education—studying under streetlights and candles. Those efforts served the nation well. Even our current President, Hon. Anura Dissanayake, studied under a streetlight. Education is the most important weapon to make this country a beautiful, livable land for all. Accordingly, our Government has allocated Rs. 271 billion to the Ministry for the next eight months.

¶ 03 Under our National People’s Power Government, a renaissance in education will be realized, due to the programmes proposed by the Hon. Minister of Education and the Hon. President, delivering the people’s expectations.

¶ 04 Rs. 500 million has been allocated to develop sports schools in five provinces, building healthy student communities by enhancing both physical and mental development.

¶ 05 Preschool teachers, long underpaid, will see relief: Rs. 100 million has been allocated to increase their pay.

¶ 06 On infrastructure: even recently, at Kopay Teachers’ College, many toilets were unusable and sealed; students were lying on bare floors. Teacher training colleges lack basic facilities—water and sanitation. I studied at Pasdunrata National College of Education (2004–2005). When I visited recently for a sports event, the very buildings in which I lived and learned were shuttered due to lack of water and toilets—the same conditions as years ago. We aim to resolve such longstanding issues and bring a true renaissance—a lasting transformation—in education.

¶ 07 Another challenge: elite schools attract students while rural schools, with limited facilities, must chase children to enroll them. As a former principal, I know principals spend time on such tasks. We will improve educational quality and expand benefits so all children gain from education.

¶ 08 Graduate employability from Sri Lankan universities averages about 69.2 percent, but Eastern and Jaffna Universities are lower—about 52 percent and 53.5 percent respectively—due to course offerings misaligned with market demand. The Open University achieves about 93.8 percent. We will reform curricula to be more practical and aligned to global labour markets, securing a better future for our youth.

¶ 09 I also wish to raise an issue from 2010–2016: the original certificates for those who completed teacher training have still not been issued by the Department of Examinations. Whether the delay is with principals of teacher colleges or examination officials, it is unacceptable after 15 years. Please intervene.

¶ 10 From 2025, our Government will recruit 555 to Sri Lanka Education Administrative Service Grade II; 4,140 diploma‑holding graduates to Sri Lanka Teachers Service Grade 3; 2,500 English teachers under “English for All”; 22,000 teachers to national and provincial schools; 2,100 teacher advisors; and 2,935 teachers for estate schools—ushering in an educational renaissance. Thank you.