With modules withdrawn and textbooks missing, parents and students face growing uncertainty as political pressure forces the government into an abrupt retreat on education reforms.
The government has been forced to roll back the education reforms it rushed into implementing, fearing a loss of power as public opposition to the damage caused by those reforms intensified, said Mahesh Senanayake, a National Executive Committee member of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya and the Teldeniya Electoral Organizer. He made these remarks while addressing a media briefing held at the Samagi Jana Balawegaya head office.
Senanayake stated that innocent children have been left helpless, with schools now lacking both textbooks and learning modules. Parents, he said, are deeply anxious about the future of their children as uncertainty grips the education system.
According to him, the Prime Minister and her team attempted to push through education reforms without understanding the country’s cultural fabric or social composition, and without properly assessing the availability of human resources and physical infrastructure needed to support such changes.
He emphasized that the Samagi Jana Balawegaya is not opposed to education reforms in principle. However, the party strongly rejects reforms that undermine religion, culture, and values, or that risk producing children with an irrational or disconnected outlook.
Senanayake recalled that Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa had requested the government to present an education white paper in July last year. That proposal, he said, was arrogantly dismissed and ridiculed by the government, which claimed it was acting correctly.
He argued that if the reforms were truly beneficial and introduced honestly, there would have been no reason to retreat. This reversal, he said, exposes a lack of sincerity within the government. He stressed that education reforms must be implemented carefully, with time, expert consultation, and bipartisan dialogue, without sacrificing the future of young children.
