Teachers warn that reducing school hours does nothing to fix deeper education reform failures, as controversial modules and rushed experiments continue to place Sri Lanka’s children at risk.
The Ministry of Education’s decision to revise school hours and close schools by 2:00 pm has been welcomed as a corrective step, but it does little to address the deeper crisis unfolding within the education system, says Joseph Stalin, Secretary of the Lanka Teachers’ Service Association.
Speaking at a media briefing in Hatton, Stalin said the rollback of extended school hours was long overdue and lacked any scientific foundation from the outset. He noted that teachers had repeatedly warned the ministry that extending school hours without proper planning would only disrupt timetables and strain both students and educators.
“Especially as of (01) the Ministry of Education’s bill to keep schools open until 2:00 has been withdrawn and changed for various reasons. So we see this as a really good situation,” he said, adding that had authorities listened earlier, schools could have prepared proper timetables instead of reacting at the last minute.
However, Stalin stressed that while the timing issue has been partially resolved, far more serious concerns remain. He pointed to the Year 6 modules as particularly problematic, raising questions about content suitability and the absence of regulatory oversight. According to him, education reforms are being pushed through without proper pilot studies or structured evaluation.
“This year, Year 6 children and Year 1 children are the ones who are in this regulatory project. The experience is being tested,” Stalin said, warning that effectively the entire cohort of Grade 1 and Grade 6 students is being used as a live experiment.
He contrasted this with international best practices, where education reforms are first tested through limited regulatory projects before nationwide implementation. In Sri Lanka, he said, reforms are being imposed all at once, without assessing consequences.
Stalin also criticized the shifting political narrative around responsibility for the reforms. While acknowledging that reform discussions predate the current government, he said authorities are now deflecting blame instead of taking ownership.
“What we are really saying is that now there should be an all-party discussion regarding the education reform process regarding the children of this country,” he said, emphasizing that reform is necessary but must address real problems.
These include intense exam competition, university admission pressure, English medium access, overcrowded classrooms, and the crisis surrounding Year 1 admissions. The current reforms, he argued, fail to solve any of these.
He also raised alarm over institutional instability, pointing to the resignation of the Director General of the National Institute of Education and alleged political interference. Stalin called for a complete reset, urging that qualified officials be formally appointed through the National Institute of Education and the National Education Commission.
Without transparency, consultation, and accountability, he warned, Sri Lanka risks turning education reform into yet another national experiment with its children paying the price.
