National Policy on Gen.Ed., Ed.Sector Reforms presented to President

Proposals for a National Policy on General Education which includes proposals for Reforms in the Education Sector, was presented to President Maithripala Sirisena on Thursday, at the President’s Official Residence.

These proposals have been formulated by the National Education Commission (NEC), established to advise the Government on Education policies.

“When we look at the Education policies of the country, we see that policies haven’t been implemented for the children to rise with self-help, without relying on the school syllabus”, said the President, speaking on the occasion.

He pointed out the necessity to give children an opportunity to come up with their Skills and Abilities through the operation of such Education policies.

He stated that, the issue of unequal distribution of human and physical resources in the Education sector has not yet been solved. “Still there are many schools islandwide even without basic facilities. The urgent attention of all authorised people should be drawn towards this issue,” the President said.

President Sirisena also recalled the difficulty faced by children due to the competitiveness of the Grade 5 Scholarship exam and the attitude of the parents in this regard. “Comprehensive attention should be paid on this issue, when forming Educational reforms,” he said.

“We cannot take advantages from any development activity, if the children of the country do not get a better Education,” the President stated. He pointed out the importance of discussing new changes to be made. “NEC, National Institute of Education ( NIE) and the Provincial Educational Institutes should meet at least once in 6 months and discuss these new changes,” the President said.

Secretary to the President, P. B. Abeykoon, NEC President, Prof. Lakshman Jayathilaka and NIE Director, Dr Jayanthi Gunasekara were among the attendees.