The Hon. (Dr.) Harini Amarasuriya

¶ 01 Mr. Speaker, I will begin with the third part. There is no plan to immediately abolish the Grade 5 Scholarship Exam. We believe that, with the impact of other reforms, we can gradually abolish it. Meanwhile, we are taking steps to reduce the pressure associated with the Grade 5 exam, aiming to implement those by 2028 or 2029.

¶ 02 Regarding Development Officers, a case is pending; we have filed a motion to proceed. Once the judgment is delivered, we can intervene; Cabinet approval for the policy decision has been obtained, and we await the court’s decision.

¶ 03 On teacher training colleges: Yes, making them universities is our goal; we agree that teachers should have degrees. But this cannot be done overnight; universities require resources, staffing, and faculties. We will proceed step by step, strengthening existing B.Ed. programs at universities and placing significant emphasis on upgrading the colleges to that standard, progressively, while building the required human resources.