• Also questions whether 2021 reforms – on which Rs. 500 m was already spent – will be discarded or continued 

The Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) stated that although financial costs, labour-related needs, and the overall impact on students should be calculated when rolling out education reforms, the Government has not declared any such assessments so far.

Speaking to The Daily Morning, the CTU President Priyantha Fernando said that nearly Rs. 500 million had already been spent on the education reform process initiated in 2021. He questioned whether the current Government intends to discard those reforms entirely or continue with them. 

“When such a large sum has already been spent, the Government should also make a statement about that.”

He added that they also suspect that the reforms are being rushed through without proper planning in order to gain access to financial support promised by institutions such as the World Bank. 

“No cost calculation has been made yet. Usually, in a reform process, calculations should be made about the financial cost, the labour spent, and the impact on the students. If reforms are introduced without any of these, it will ultimately harm the education of the children.”

The Secretary to the Ministry of Education, Higher Education, and Vocational Education, Nalaka Kaluwewa was unavailable for comment.

The Ministry recently announced initial reforms, which include reducing the number of subjects offered at the General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level Examination to seven. Students will be required to study five compulsory subjects – mathematics, English, mother tongue (Sinhala or Tamil), religion, and science – along with two electives chosen from Technology, Aesthetics, Management and Entrepreneurship, Humanities and Social Sciences, or Health and Physical Education. The Ministry also announced that the number of teaching periods per day will be reduced to seven, with each lasting 50 minutes.