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SL school education to be reformed to meet international standards – Education Minister

Published

3 years ago

2022/10/3

Thilina Walpola

Mishrawarna Olympiad Champions’ Awards Ceremony

By Claude Gunasekera

A long-awaited revolutionary approach to the national education system is now to be launched next year by introducing the world renowned STEAM education framework with a sturdy focus on subjects of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics to teach students how to think critically, solve problems and use creativity, in their mindset that prepares them to work in career areas that are predicted to experience significant growth.

Minister of Education Dr. Susil Premajayantha revealed this new education strategy in the presence of Secretary to Ministry of Education Nihal Ranasinghe when he attended the Mishrawarna Olympiad Champions’ Awards Ceremony at the Colombo University during the weekend. He was the Chief Guest. It is an annual event organized by Sri Lanka Olympiad Mathematics Foundation since 2004.

The minister said it was the first time that such an initiative had been taken to introduce a global education model in to the curriculum in Sri Lanka and grounding in STEAM subjects offered a broader array of career choices for developing personalities. “Earlier, we have been reforming the education system on and off, but the real need is the transformation to global trends in par with international standards. We have been following the same old system for many years, but the new initiative will help achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by 2030 through a quality education. He said Finland ranks world’s No.1 in Quality Education and the reason is that teachers are accountable for each student and we too have to follow it by providing vigorous training to teachers here as in Singapore.

Minister Premajayantha also pointed out that STEAM education promotes the integration between subjects that aims at favoring deep and collaborative learning on students, through curricular integration in scientific education. He invited and sought the assistance and cooperation from all concerned and involved individuals and institutions in education to support this mission towards making the new approach a success.

Minister also said that Mathematics is a compulsory subject in school curriculum world-over and is an essential discipline in human progress and the foundation for innovation and creativity in human thinking. He concluded commending the mission conducted by Sri Lanka Olympiad Mathematics Foundation (SLOMF) and particularly it’s Founder / Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr. Chanakya Wijeratne and assured the fullest cooperation of the Education Ministry to support the annual Olympiad Championship Awards Ceremony from next year.

“Mathematics Achievement’ is essentially an important indicator in the economic development of a country “said Nihal Ranasinghe, Secretary Ministry of Education. He further said that International Mathematic Competition (IMO) is the most prestigious and important mathematical competition for high school students and since early nineties Sri Lankan students have toured overseas to take part this competition. He further said that SLOMF has been providing a tremendous platform to support mathematics among the school children in Sri Lanka and commended the efforts taken by the foundation to enhance the quality of mathematics. He said the contribution is greatly appreciated.

Quoting that “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a Fire” Dr. Chanakya Wijeratne said conducting the Sri Lanka Mathematics Competition (SLMC) Island wide since 2004, has attempted to light fires in thousands of local school children’s minds posing interesting and challenging efforts for the zone of proximal development in improving critical thinking, mathematical thinking and creativity for problem solving.

Further speaking at the occasion Dr. Wijeratne said “At school you mostly do exercises which are routine tasks and easy to do. But solving problems require patience. Often solutions are not found in an instant. Sometimes you struggle and fail. Failures are the pillars of success. Every failure, every mistake is an opportunity to grow if you have a growth mind set. With a growth mind set you can aim high. You can aim for the moon or Dream big. You could be the next Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg or Andrew Wiles. Don’t be afraid of failing. Even if you miss the moon, you will land among the stars”.

He said the Sri Lankan national team that attended the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) held in Norway this year did remarkably well and they brought honors’ to the nation. He told that students who take part in the IMO have easy opportunity to get admission into top ranking universities in the world.It is a great pleasure for me to welcome you all this Olympiad Champions’ Awards Ceremony 2022. I feel lucky to have the opportunity to say a few words to the

Dayan Kiriwaththuduwa, National Coordinator & Chief Technical Officer of SLMOF, felicitated Dr. Chanakya Wijeratne for the immense service rendered in the school & university education sector through mathematics Olympiad and stated in his citation that “Self-visualization is the defining of self-future, based on present knowledge of goals, hopes, and dreams. Dr. Chanakya Wijeratne is teaching this point and is a desirable model himself”.

Glenfrey De Mel, Chief Operating Officer (COO) speaking at the occasion invited and encouraged all school children in the country to participate in the Sri Lanka Mathematics Competition which is not purely based on the mathematics subject but it is a mind improvement game worth attended by any student. He said the online registration is open by next month (October) for the examination to be held in January 2023 and the Sri Lankan team for International Mathematical Olympiad will be selected among the winners of the national competition.

Dr. Dayal Dharmasena, Director Training, Samantha Ariyaratna, Director Operations SLMOF, and Jagath Chandana Perera, Advisory Partner KPMG were attended the occasion for presentation of awards.There were around 250 award winners from a variety of schools all over the country, with Gold, Silver, Bronze Medalists and Certificate winners.

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Advisory for Severe Lightning for the Western and Sabaragamuwa provinces and Galle and Matara districts

Published

13 hours ago

2026/02/7

Priyan

Advisory for Severe Lightning
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre at 12.00 noon 07 February 2026 valid for the period until 11.00 p.m. 07 February 2026

Thundershowers accompanied with severe lightning are likely to occur at some places in the Western and Sabaragamuwa province and in Galle and Matara districts.

There may be temporary localized strong winds during thundershowers.

The general public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by lightning activity.

ACTION REQUIRED:

The Department of Meteorology advises that people should:
 Seek shelter, preferably indoors and never under trees.
 Avoid open areas such as paddy fields, tea plantations and open water bodies during thunderstorms.
 Avoid using wired telephones and connected electric appliances during thunderstorms.
 Avoid using open vehicles, such as bicycles, tractors and boats etc.
 Beware of fallen trees and power lines.
 For emergency assistance contact the local disaster management authorities.

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INS GHARIAL departs island

Published

14 hours ago

2026/02/7

Priyan

The Indian Naval Ship (INS) GHARIAL which made a port call in Colombo, departed the island on 06 Feb 26.

The Sri Lanka Navy bade a customary farewell to the departing ship at the Port of Colombo, following naval traditions.

During the ship’s port call, the crew took a sightseeing tour of key attractions in Colombo.

The visit also featured the handover of ten temporary Bailey Bridges, which were brought by INS GHARIAL, in coordination with the High Commission of India in Sri Lanka.

News

Stop the collection of funds from parents at school level for Smart Boards — PM

Published

17 hours ago

2026/02/7

Priyan

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated that the Ministry of Education has already commenced the distribution of Smart Boards required for the new education reforms, and that the collection of funds from parents at school level for this purpose must be stopped immediately. She further emphasized that no decision has been taken to curtail free education or to close the Jayewardenepura Faculty of Dental Sciences.

The Prime Minister made these remarks in response to a question raised in Parliament on Thursday [05th February] by the Leader of the Opposition, Sajith Premadasa.

Elaborating further, the Prime Minister stated,

“Although the Leader of the Opposition has not traditionally upheld free education as a policy, I appreciate your stance on the matter at this juncture. However, I urge that questions should not be raised based on social media content or unverified rumours in Parliament. No decision has been taken to curtail free education or to close the Jayawardenepura Faculty of Dental Sciences. The Medical Faculty of the Wickramarachchi University of Indigenous Medicine had commenced operations without regulatory approval and had introduced course work, resulting in students being placed in a vulnerable situation. Necessary action is currently being taken based on the recommendations of a report submitted by an expert committee appointed to examine the issue. This this is not a political decision, but one guided by expert opinion”.

“Arrangements are underway to distribute the required Smart Boards to schools during this year, and there is no need to collect funds from parents for this purpose. If any such collections are taking place, they must be stopped immediately. The Secretary to the Ministry of Education has already issued a directive instructing schools not to collect funds from parents”.

“The subject Information Technology will not be taught as a separate subject for Grades 1 to 5. However, recognizing the need to prepare students for a globally advancing technological world, discussions have been initiated based on expert advice on how to provide age-appropriate technological awareness to students. Decisions will be made after carefully considering child protection concerns and expert recommendations. The curriculum-related decisions will not be made politically, but by subject experts.

Based on the requests made by the universities and higher education institutions recruitment for essential academic vacancies is currently being carried out under the Cabinet approval. Although thirty years have passed since the establishment of the teacher service, further measures are required to enhance its quality. Existing issues relating to teacher promotions, considering the practical difficulties in evaluation processes and non-compliance with service minute provisions are being addressed alongside other challenges. The government is presently focused on formulating a systematic plan to ensure quality education.”

Responding to a question raised by the Member of Parliament Kader Mastan, the Prime Minister stated,

“Several programmes have been introduced based on government policy decisions to fulfill the basic needs of schoolchildren. These include the provision of school textbooks, uniforms, and the “Suraksha” health insurance scheme. Additionally, voucher schemes have been introduced to support the purchase of sanitary products for girls in Grades 6 to 13. Midday meals are also being provided for primary school students, and financial assistance is extended to students who pass the Grade 5 Scholarship Examination but do not receive bursaries. The Ministry of Education is in the process of gathering further information with the intention of expanding these programmes”.

The Prime Minister also announced that the 2025 G.C.E. Ordinary Level Examination is scheduled to be held from February 17 to 26. Although this period coincides with the observance of Ramadan, relevant authorities have confirmed that it will not pose an obstacle to the conduct of the examination. Furthermore, it has been decided to hold the Grade 5 Scholarship Examination and the G.C.E. Advanced Level Examination before August each year, and the G.C.E. Ordinary Level Examination in December. From 2026 onwards, efforts will be made to conduct examinations in accordance with this revised annual examination calendar.

[Prime Minister’s Media Division]