New Regulations to govern WP Education system

New regulations governing Provincial Education, including school admissions, will be introduced in the Western Provincial (WP) Council, a senior official said.

WP Education Ministry Secretary S. G. Wijeyabandu told Education Times that regulations are being introduced to overcome difficulties within the WP's Education system and to improve the facilities.

Regulations regarding Grade 1 admissions will be among the key changes to be introduced.

He said the school admission regulations introduced by the Central Govt were not practical, when applied to the Provinces and therefore, new regulations were required.

He said the moves are being made after careful study of regulations over the years.

Mr Wijeyabandu said there was disparity regarding admissions at times, where it is disadvantageous to persons living for long periods in the same area, as opposed to those who have resettled in the area recently.

He said, currently there are complications in the system of calculating marks and therefore, the discrepancies should be eliminated.

He said there will be two dif- ferent systems followed for admission regarding longstanding residential students, as well as for 'outsiders'.

"We should have a reasonable admission system to avoid people getting involved in malpractices," he said.

He said one of the proposals under consideration is to reduce the marks given for the 'Past Pupils' category.

Regarding teacher recruit- ment, inviting professionals to come and teach in schools, change of timetables, improving sports, changes in discipline, authority to change time of opening and closing schools during natural disasters or, adverse weather patterns, are among those under consideration.

He said the independent powers of the PCs will be made use of under the PC Act.