Teacher unions have urged the public to look beyond Prime Minister and Education Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya’s assurances that no schools will be closed under the government’s new education reforms. They have warned that the government policy could still lead to closures “by another name.”
Ceylon Teacher Service Union (CTSU) General Secretary Joseph Stalin told The Island yesterday that the government was effectively shutting down small schools by merging them and transferring teachers to fill vacancies elsewhere.
“The government is closing down many schools by merging two or more low-student-attendance schools and redeploying teachers to other institutions. This is detrimental to both students and teachers,” Stalin said. “We call on the public not to accept these reforms in this manner. We are opposed to this.”
Several education sector unions have commenced discussing the contents of proposed reforms and possibilities of forming a single alliance to fight against them.
However, Prime Minister Amarasuriya, addressing the Parliamentary Subcommittee on Education Reform on Wednesday insisted that no schools would be closed and that the government’s policy was to “integrate and develop” existing institutions.
She said the reforms were designed to enhance the quality of education and ensure equal opportunities across the country.
The Prime Minister has also announced that a unified curriculum will be introduced for all preschools nationwide from 2026.
“The early childhood curriculum framework has already been finalised,” she said, adding that a training programme for officials responsible for preparing about 19,000 preschool teachers will commence on 25 Nov.
Training sessions would be held in every province to ensure that teaching practices align with the new curriculum, Dr. Amarasuriya added.The Subcommittee meeting was attended by Members of Parliament, Education Ministry Secretary Nalaka Kaluwewa, officials from the National Institute of Education, and other ministry representatives.
