Minister outlines education reforms

Education Minister Dr Susil Premajayantha has outlined some of the reforms to be implemented in the education sector.

Fresh directives will be sent out on how to hold ‘School Circles’ in which parents actively participate at school over two weeks from February 2 to February 16, as part of the new programmes.

Trainers (on a provincial, regional, and divisional basis) for early childhood development programmes are to be provided, in addition to teacher development programmes and other human resource development (HRD) activities.

Additionally, Spoken English programmes for primary grades are scheduled to begin.

Also, in partnership with the University Grants Commission (UGC), educational development initiatives for Advanced Level (A/L) instructors are to be implemented. Compiling A/L and Ordinary Level (O/L) prior career guidance programmes for school drop-outs is another planned move.

The establishment of 17 new environmental resource centres (ERCs) was also suggested, where topics pertaining to 26 subject areas would be covered.

The Minister said that no matter what obstacle, decisions in the education system would not be delayed.

“No matter what the hurdles may be, there is no prospect of postponing the work in the education system. To execute the policy decisions reached, it is vital to maintain strong coordination with all sectors of the education system,” the Minister emphasised.

The Minister was speaking at a meeting the Education Ministry convened on Thursday (4), to examine issues pertaining to the programmes that the Ministry plans to put into effect in 2024.

“No matter what the hurdles may be, there is no prospect of postponing the work in the education system.