It is the collective responsibility of all of us to strengthen the learning process and provide a quality education to the nation’s children.
Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasooriya.
With the change in political authority, the people, who expected widespread change in every sector of the country, strongly expected that change in the education system.
Programs were held to inform teachers of grades 01 and 06 of schools in the Samanthurai and Ampara zones of Kalmunai, and to inform district education authorities and principals about the educational reforms that were taking place at Al Azraq College in Kalmunai and D. S. Senanayake College in Ampara. Addressing the principals at D. S. Senanayake College in Ampara, the Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasooriya made the following statement.
The Minister told the principals that the efforts and dedication made to maintain the free education that was bestowed upon us by the Kannangara Chinthana amidst many problems such as resource disparity, lack of infrastructure and teacher shortage should be appreciated and that the education authorities, principals and teachers should be appreciated without fail.
The Minister said that although there are currently 10,097 schools in Sri Lanka, unlimited educational competition exists in a limited number of schools, around 300. She added that while the number of students in a classroom in some such schools is as high as 50-60, in some remote areas the number of students in a school is limited to a very small number of 10-20, and that these are clearly two extremes with a large disparity.
Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated here that the government urgently needs to eliminate this disparity and that for this purpose, positive steps such as developing the infrastructure of schools and eliminating the teacher shortage will be taken, while also maintaining the number of students in a class at an appropriate level of 30-35 and taking necessary measures to make the teaching and learning process in schools successful.
The Minister emphasized that at a time when we are trying to build a transformative change in the education system through education reform, it is the collective responsibility of all of us to strive to create the next generation of leaders so that no child or school is left behind, and that this process cannot be carried out by one person alone and requires the support of all.
The Deputy Minister of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment, Wasantha Piyatissa, Members of Parliament, Priyantha Wijeratne, Adambawa, and provincial education authorities were present at the event.