2021-11-26
News Categories : Committee News
According to the report of the Cabinet Subcommittee on teacher and Principals 'Salary Anomalies, an additional Rs. 31 million has been included in this year's budget following the discussions with the Prime Minister, the Hon. Minister of Finance and the Teachers' Trade Unions, Hon. Dinesh Gunawardena, Minister of Education said.
He stated the above addressing the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Education which met in Parliament recently (24).
Furthermore, the Minister stated that the z-score for the A / L results has been released and that the obstacles to the release of the G. C. E. OL results while the teacher-principal salary anomaly crisis persisted has been resolved.
Additionally, relevant dates to hold the GCE (Advanced Level) examination, Grade 5 Scholarship Examination and GCE (O / L) examination which was postponed due to COVID – 19 have already been decided, the Minister said. Accordingly, the Grade 5 scholarship examination will be held on January, 2022 and the GCE (Advanced Level) examination will be held in the first week of February. GCE (Ordinary Level) examination will be held on May 23rd.
The report of the technical Committee appointed by the Parliamentary Sub-Committee on the Inclusion of Law as a Subject in School Curriculum was submitted to the Consultative Committee by State Minister of State, (Dr.) Susil Premajayantha for approval.
Addressing the Committee, the state minister said that it is proposed to change the subject of Citizenship Education, which is currently a compulsory subject from Grade 6 to Grade 9 in the school curriculum, to Law and Citizenship Education after these reforms.
According to the report of the technical committee, the inclusion of law as a subject in the school curriculum will create awareness among children about the law, create awareness about the consequences of disobedience and punishment, provide an understanding of the rights protected by law, legislation and law enforcement mechanisms. It is expected to develop skills such as providing an understanding of the duties and responsibilities established by law in a civilized society.
The state minister further stated that the Final Report on the Policy Framework compiled into three sections on Educational Reforms in Vocational Education and Educational Reforms in Higher Education Educational Reforms from Early Childhood to Advanced Level in Relation to Expected New Education Reforms, has been released in August 2020. He also stated that a digital platform for anyone to express their views on general education was launched on March 28th, 2021 under the patronage of the H.E. the President.
The Minister said that a report prepared after examining 2400 ideas and suggestions received for this purpose has been submitted to the National Education Commission.
Hon. State Ministry of Skills Development, Vocational Education, Research & Innovation (Dr.) Seetha Arambepola said that an urban university would be established in every district where there is no national university.
Initiated as stated in the Policy Statement of H. E. the President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, the 1000 National Schools Program launched was also discussed at length.
Chairman of the Committee Hon. Dinesh Gunawardena, Minister of Education, Hon. Minister Mahinda Amaraweera, (Dr.) Susil Premajayantha, (Dr.) Seetha Arambepola, Piyal Nishantha, Vijitha Berugoda, Hon. Members of Parliament Rauff Hakeem, Thavaraja Kalai Arasan, Sudath Manjula, Shantha Bandara, Eran Wickramaratne, Premnath C. Dolawatte, Cader Mastan, (Dr.) Upul Galappaththi, Yadamini Gunawardena, Anupa Pasqual, Charles Nirmalanathan, Nimal Piyathissa, Chamara Sampath Dasanayake, (Dr.) V. Radhakrishnan, Udayakantha Goonetileke, Ajith Rajapaksa, Diana Gamage, Upul Mahendra Rajapaksha, Shantha Bandara, Geetha Kumarasinghe, Goonetilleke Rajapaksa, Prof. Charitha Herath, Madhura Withanage, Manjula Dissanayake, Rohana Dissanayake, Kokila Gunawardena and Prof. K. Kapila C.K. Perera Secretary of Ministry of Education and officials were present at this meeting.
2025-11-22
Approval of the Committee was granted for eight reports that must be approved by CoPF under the Ministry of Finance Act The overall financial performance up to September 2025 of the major revenue-generating institutions under the Ministry of Finance was reviewed at the meeting of the Committee on Public Finance. This review took place on the Nov. 20th, when the Committee on Public Finance, chaired by Hon. Member of Parliament Harsha de Silva, met in Parliament. Accordingly, officials representing the Inland Revenue Department, the Sri Lanka Excise Department, and the Sri Lanka Customs presented the progress of their respective institutions for review. Officials representing the Public Debt Management Office also provided clarifications regarding the Medium-Term Debt Management Strategy for the period 2026 - 2030 and the borrowing plan for 2026. Furthermore, officials representing the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka explained the progress of the institution. During this discussion, foreign direct investment was reviewed, and officials pointed out that from January to September 2025, USD 827 million in foreign direct investment had been received. Accordingly, the Committee observed that the Board of Investment and other institutions should take effective measures to ensure that foreign investment continues to grow steadily over the coming years. Furthermore, approval was granted for eight reports that must be approved by the Committee on Public Finance, prepared in accordance with the provisions of the State Finance Management Act No. 44 of 2024. Hon. Deputy Ministers Chathuranga Abeysinghe and Nishantha Jayaweera, as well as Hon. Members of Parliament Ravi Karunanayake and Chithral Fernando, Attorney at Law, together with several others, attended this meeting.
2025-11-22
The document pertaining to the proposed draft Bill of the Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority, which is scheduled to be presented to Parliament upon Cabinet approval in the future, was extensively discussed at the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Economic Development and International Relations, Members of the Sub Committee under the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment established to identify future steps to resolve the microfinance debt issue, and the Women Parliamentarians' Caucus. This discussion took place on the Nov. 20th, when the Committees met in Parliament under the chairmanship of Hon. Members of Parliament Lakmali Hemachandra, Attorney at Law and Samanmalee Gunasinghe. A group of officials from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and the Legal Department of the Treasury were also in attendance. Presenting their views, the officials stated that the initial draft related to this proposed Bill was published in January 2024. They further noted that petitions had been filed before the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka regarding the said draft, and that the new draft has been prepared including the amendments ordered to be incorporated by the Supreme Court, the Committee Stage amendments submitted by the Ministry of Finance to the Supreme Court, as well as other policy-related amendments, and the Gazette has now been prepared accordingly. It was stated further that the Bill is expected to be presented to the Tenth Parliament. Accordingly, the officials stated that the objective of the Bill is to establish the Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority of Sri Lanka, to regulate the business of money lending and microfinance business, to provide protection to customers of such services, and to repeal the Microfinance Act No. 6 of 2016. The composition of the Board of Directors of this Regulatory Authority was also discussed during the meeting. Hon. Member of Parliament Lakmali Hemachandra, Attorney at Law pointed out that the absence of a member representing the customers of the microfinance business within the Board composition was concerning. It was also highlighted by the Hon. Members that women have been disproportionately affected due to the lack of regulation in the microfinance sector, and therefore the importance of having a Board member representing women was emphasized. Accordingly, the view of the Hon. Members was that a representative from the National Commission on Women, or the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs, or the Secretary to the line Ministry should be appointed as a member of the Board of Directors. Meanwhile, various other matters contained in the draft Bill were also discussed at length. It was stressed that the purpose of the Bill should be to prevent the social crisis and harm that have arisen at ground level due to the operation of microfinance lending activities without any form of regulation. Accordingly, the Committee instructed the officials to incorporate the necessary amendments into the Bill that is to be introduced in the future. The officials stated that such amendments may be introduced at the Committee Stage of the Bill. Members of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Economic Development and International Relations, members of the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus of the Parliament of Sri Lanka, Members of the Sub Committee under the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment established to identify future steps to resolve the microfinance debt issue, and several officials participated in this meeting.
2025-11-21
Hon. Minister of Women and Child Affairs, Saroja Savithri Paulraj stated that creating a society with an elevated mindset capable of serving humanity as human beings is the objective of the politics of the government. The Hon.Minister made these remarks during a meeting with representatives of the Eastern Social Development Foundation. She made these remarks on the occasion of the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus in Parliament held in Parliament recently, (Nov. 17) to discuss improving the political inclusion of women’s groups who do not have representation in local politics. Attention of the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus was also drawn to further expanding the possibility of obtaining nominations in a manner that represents special population groups living in the country. Furthermore, activities and the future work plan to be carried out under the leadership of the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus to support the global 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) from November 25 to December 10 were also discussed with representatives of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Members of the Caucus Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees Hemali Weerasekara, Samanmali Gunasingha, Krishnan Kalaichelvi, A.M.M.M. Rathwaththe, Hiruni Wijesinghe, Attorney at Law, Hasara Liyanage, Attorney at Law, Lakmali Hemachandra, Attorney at Law, Geetha Herath, Attorney at Law, and Thushari Jayasingha, Attorney at Law were present at this meeting held.
2025-11-20
The Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils, and Local Government was recently summoned to the Committee Appointed to Review Non-implementation of the Recommendations of the Parliamentary Committees to inquire into the delays in implementing the recommendations made by the Committee on Public Petitions of Parliament. This matter was considered when the above committee met in Parliament on the Nov. 13th under the chairmanship of Hon. Minister Harshana Nanayakkara, Attorney-at-Law. Accordingly, the officials presented at the committee pointed out the practical problems that exist in implementing some of the said recommendations. The Committee was also informed that steps have already been taken to implement some of the recommendations. However, it was decided that the petitioner's views should also be sought regarding the problems arising in the implementation of certain recommendations, and accordingly, it was decided to summon the petitioners to the Committee on another date. The meeting was attended by the Hon. Deputy Minister Sunil Watagala, Attorney-at-Law, Hon. Members of Parliament Ravi Karunanayake, Ajith P. Perera, Attorney-at-Law, and Oshani Umanga
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