27 September 2023 01:40 pm
While Sri Lanka becomes one of the few countries in the world with free education and further expands free educational opportunities from the first-year to university, early childhood education will be made compulsory for all children who reach the age of four, Education Minister Susil Premajayantha said.
The government will intervene on behalf of children who cannot pay for it, and based on the need, early childhood development centres can be held in primary schools where space is available.
This will also be a solution for schools facing the challenge of closure, he said.
He also said that the most fundamental step to success in educational transformational reforms is the formal early childhood development of children in this country.
The Minister said this while attending a programme at 'Suwa Diviyai Sathutu Sithai' in Battaramulla for the school health promotion month. (Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama)