• Money for teacher training, syllabi reforms, etc., from 2026 Budget 

In the wake of allegations that no calculation has been made on the expenditure for the proposed education reforms, the Ministry of Education, Higher Education, and Vocational Education stated that it is not possible to present a distinct figure for the overall cost.

Speaking to The Daily Morning, Secretary to the Ministry Nalaka Kaluwewa explained that education reforms involve multiple processes and that the money required would be drawn from next year’s (2026) Budget. 

“A certain sum of money is allocated annually for education. We need to manage these funds according to the reform plan. For example, when textbooks are changed as part of the reforms, the general allocation for printing will be used for that purpose. This year alone, Rs. 15 billion was set aside for textbooks,” he said.

He added that education reforms would be implemented according to a structured plan, with funds channelled effectively into areas such as teacher training, syllabi reforms, and other priority programmes. 

“It is not possible to state a single figure. The costs will be distributed across the Budget according to different reform activities,” he went on to say.

The Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) recently claimed that no financial-, labour-, or student-impact assessments had been disclosed for the proposed reforms. CTU President Priyantha Fernando said that nearly Rs. 500 million had already been spent on education reforms initiated in 2021, and questioned as to whether the current administration intends to continue with them or discard them. He also alleged that reforms were being accelerated without adequate planning in order to gain access to promised financial support from international institutions such as the World Bank.

The ministry has already announced initial reform measures, including reducing the number of subjects offered at the General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level Examination to seven, with five compulsory subjects – Mathematics, English, the Mother Tongue (Sinhala/Tamil), Religion, and Science – alongside two electives chosen from Technology, Aesthetics, Management and Entrepreneurship, Humanities and Social Sciences, or Health and Physical Education. In addition, the number of teaching periods per day is to be cut to seven, each lasting 50 minutes.