Sri Lanka still lacks an officially approved national education policy, the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) said during a meeting held on Wednesday.
The meeting, chaired by MP Aravinda Senaratne, was convened to review the Auditor General’s report and assess the 2023 performance of the Ministry of Education, Higher Education, and Vocational Training.
Officials from the Education Ministry and the National Education Commission (NEC) admitted that although policy guidelines had been followed on various occasions, the country had yet to adopt a formal national education policy. The NEC had made multiple recommendations over the years, but only a few had been implemented.
Expressing concern, the COPA Chairman described the situation as “deeply regrettable” and emphasised the urgent need for a cohesive national framework to steer the future of education. He instructed the relevant officials to expedite the formulation and approval of a national education policy.
COPA also examined the previous administration’s ‘1,000 National Schools’ programme and 72 other projects launched under the State Ministry. The committee found that only 23 schools had been upgraded, while Rs. 2.42 million had been spent merely on preparing name boards for 809 schools that were never developed. A report on all 72 projects has been requested within three months.
The committee further raised concerns over the outdated status of the National Education Management Information System. It also noted that 328 laptop computers had remained unused for over two years due to a legal dispute with a supplier that allegedly failed to meet contractual specifications.
The session was attended by several parliamentarians and officials, including Deputy Minister Mahinda Jayasinghe.