Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya said that the aim of the present government is to provide the best for all the sons and daughters of the nation based on the concept of best for all children.
The Prime Minister mentioned this while participating in the national ceremony of the World Children and Elderly Day held at Suhurupaya Auditorium, Battaramulla.
The theme of this year’s World Children’s and Elderly Day is “Let’s extend our hands of love… adults, children generation.”.
Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya said that the current government is committed to education and is making policies to protect the education of children from pre-school to advanced level.
The Prime Minister who further commented,
“Today we celebrate two very important groups in our society. Children are our future. Senior citizens are the generation that brought our future here and gave birth to the present. So today is the day we honor and appreciate both of those parts. If we look at any country and find out how civilized and how developed that country is, one of the most important criteria is how well the children, elders and great citizens are treated in that society.
Especially as communities who deserve protection, care and love in the society, it is extremely important how those children and our senior citizens are treated in a society and in that treatment we can get an idea about how developed, how humane and how civilized that country is. Looking at it that way, I think we all have to accept it.
That we still have a lot of work left to do as a country as a society. Our children have become the main victims when we look at all these especially the economic crisis and the political crisis that have occurred in the last few years. They have become the main victims of today’s most competitive oppressive society. Social crises have arisen through the breakdown of social relations in the society, as well as family relations, through the loss of trust in each other and the collapse of trust in institutions. Due to the weakening of the trustworthiness of their political leaders and the public institutions, non-governmental institutions and private institutions that they are supposed to serve, the doubt among the people in general is very harmful.
If a society is to develop, if a society is to be strong, the most important thing is the trust we have in each other. When the trust in institutions and the trust in political leadership weakens, that trust is lost. It is very clear that big social crises will be created. The main thing we need to solve and address is this social crisis. If we feel about social problems, instead of facing these problems alone, we can collectively seek answers to these problems and find solutions. When we have that attitude, we can develop as a country.
But today our country is not in such a situation. We are all alone. Everyone tries to find solutions to the problems they face alone. We live in a society where we put a lot of pressure on ourselves personally and fight for it alone. We think this should change. If the development of a society is to create the well-being of a society and the happiness of its citizens, that social system must be a strong social system. Those social institutions in a social system can be family, educational services, education can be health. It could be social security. Law and order can happen, all these should be strengthened. The attitude that all of these are institutions that serve the people and that they can get services should be reliably strong in the society. But as we see today, there is no such situation in our society. We are not responsible for it as individuals. Or it is not because of the weakness of one officer. Not one teacher’s weakness. A mother is not a father’s problem.
This is a total social crisis. Therefore, the main thing that we need at this moment is to go beyond trying to solve our problems individually and understand the social crisis that exists, and how we should intervene collectively for that social crisis. Planning how we should be organized for that. At this time, that discussion is essential for this society. As we see it, strengthening the social system, the economic and political systems, and the systems that are necessary to find the necessary solutions to our social crises, instead of solving our problems individually, instead of solving those problems individually, it is also a prime need.
Our government has conveyed a very clear message to the people of this country, this country and the world through the victory we got in this presidential election. That change is needed. That difference is not just a personal difference. The hope of the people of our country at this time is to make a structural change that can make a difference in our society, which changes the system beyond individual change. We hope for that transformation to build a society that is more healthy and more kind and more inclusive, that goes beyond short-term gains and interventions on temporary superficial problems.
know Therefore, as a government, our involvement is not limited to superficial issues.
More seriously, we hope to implement short-term, medium-term and long-term solutions to the socio-economic political crises in this society in a very planned manner. We believe that all children deserve the best. Not just for a select group of kids. We need to create a society where all children can believe that they can live happily in this country, live with hope in this country and make their aspirations a reality. So that is why we are trying to intervene and implement policies.
And that is why our senior citizens are facing many crises today. Especially through the loss of their economic independence, they have become dependent. This is not an acceptable situation. We are trying to create a society where senior citizens can lead independent lives and live happy lives to protect their dignity and respect. Especially when talking about these children, you all know that we have had to face a lot of crises in education at this time. When trust in society collapses, the trust in education has also collapsed. This is an extremely dangerous situation, when there is no confidence in education in a society, when there is doubt about the school system, when a family feels that the school system is a burden, when a child feels that education is a burden, it is a serious situation. So that is why our government has decided to pay special attention to education.
We need an education system that protects a child from pre-school to higher education, protects the child in the education system and does justice to all children. So, therefore, we think that these changes and transformations will gradually be possible in the education system and in the educational institutions, as well as in all areas of health, law and order. We are working with that hope at this time. I have something special to say, the 5th year scholarship exam has become a controversial issue these days. We understand that very well. That crisis is an expression of the crisis in this society itself. Through this competitive education system, parents are trapped and under great pressure, as their opportunities to provide the best education to their children are gradually disappearing.
We can understand why the parents are so involved in the scholarship of the five. We all strive to get the best for our child. When my child does not get the best, we have to face extremely difficult situations. It is not the fault of the parents nor the problem of the principals of the teachers in that school. Because of the very weak education policies that have been in place for a long time. A problem that has been created due to the government’s distance from education. So I think we all know that we can’t solve it overnight.
But at this moment, through the intervention of the President, we are also working to get the best solution that all children deserve as a fair solution to this problem. We are working to come up with a solution in such a way that the children will not feel any more pressure and that all the children can get a fair answer by talking to the relevant experts who have expert knowledge about the exams and can understand the child’s mind. For that, we have worked closely with the Ministry of Education and the Department of Examinations, and we are also working very carefully on the steps that should be taken to prevent such situations from happening again. For that, we are discussing with the police to investigate this incident and to punish those responsible for it, and what kind of intervention should be done by us so that such situations do not happen again. In our opinion, no child should ever be pressured through such an examination.
In this way uncertainty should not be created. It is not acceptable. We also understand the injustice caused to parents through that. That is why the need for all of us to intervene and work together to find the best solution that does not harm all children and does not put more pressure on them and does justice to all children is very clear. We have already taken a number of steps for that. Until more information about this is obtained, the marking of the fifth scholarship has been temporarily suspended. As a government, we take all the decisions by prioritizing the children’s mental health and the best interest of the child, even if there is no injustice to the children. Through that, we think that we are bound to carry out the transformation and reformation that is necessary to intervene in the future, especially in the field of education, in such a way that the child’s welfare is paramount. So we are in this very crucial moment. We have got an opportunity to correctly identify many problems that have been created in our country for a long time and have not received attention for a long time, and find systematic and sustainable solutions to them.
As we see, every problem has a solution. There are no problems without solutions. We see it as our responsibility to find that solution properly and to find solutions in such a way that other parties will not be inconvenienced or treated unfairly through those solutions. Therefore, I request everyone to think about the long-term program of building this country and at the same time patiently face the problems that we have to face on a daily basis that is created by a society that has collapsed for a long time. I would like to request that we all intervene, understanding the mental well-being of children and the needs of children, especially in the problems faced by children. Once again I wish you all the best.
I would especially like to thank our secretary and the staff of the ministry who have organized this event for a long time and they are organizing it with great enthusiasm. By taking my ideas and changing them as needed, we were able to do this work by working very amicably with all of us. Going forward, I know we have a lot of work to do. I hope for your support for that.
I am also very thankful to our senior citizens, you are a great strength for us. We are well aware of your contribution to maintain our society in this way today. We also know that you have not been the best we can be. But let’s change that. You are a resource for us and we must protect that resource. We have many things to learn from you. And we must learn. You need to build an environment where you can continue to do what you can do for the society. We should take care of you too. We have that determination that we should intervene for that too. So thank you all very much for participating. Let’s build this country. Let’s make this country a country where all of us can live happily. Thank you very much.
– Prime Minister’s Media Division –
