The Hon. (Dr.) Madhura Senevirathna
Hon. (Dr.) Madhura Senevirathna outlined two education policy tracks: digitizing about 6,200 secondary schools through fibre or broadband connections by year-end, and reorganizing schools using criteria such as catchment population, transport access, teacher deployment, and infrastructure capacity. He stated that Rs. 500 million supported 31 schools last year, while Rs. 1 billion is allocated this year for 169 schools, with future emphasis on primary schools. He also detailed allocations for Pirivena and special education, national school infrastructure, estate sector schools, and pending “Nearest School – The Best School” projects, arguing that infrastructure funding is being targeted through defined programmes.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Member, thank you. We work under two tracks:
¶ 02 1) Under reforms, digitization of the education system: around 6,200 secondary schools have been identified to be networked with fibre or broadband by year-end, with broad multilateral support.
¶ 03 2) School reorganization: selecting schools based on about eight criteria (under-5 population in the catchment, number of nearby schools, availability of transport, teacher deployment, existing buildings and potential expansion, etc.). Last year, 31 schools were taken up with Rs. 500 million; this year Rs. 1 billion for 169 schools to upgrade infrastructure, with a focus on primary schools next year.
¶ 04 Additionally, across the system: - Pirivena and Special Education: around Rs. 12 billion. - National school system infrastructure: around Rs. 5 billion this year. - Estate sector schools: reduce teacher shortages via teacher housing and infrastructure, about Rs. 700 million. - Pending items under “Nearest School – The Best School”, including this auditorium: about Rs. 700 million this year.
¶ 05 Thus, we have defined, targeted funding for infrastructure upgrading. Thank you.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Thursday, 19 March 2026 ·No. 23381 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. (Dr.) Madhura Senevirathna. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 19 March 2026. No. 23381. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/30126