15 March 2021 03:24 pm
The Yahapalanaya Government did not make any attempt to find what were being taught at Islamic schools religious schools known as madrasas nor took steps to control them, Education Minister G.L. Pieris said.
Addressing the media he said nearly 2,000 madrasas are in operation in every area of the country.
The previous Government had failed to find as to what were the subjects being taught at madrasas, the syllabi and about the teachers who taught at those madrasas.
"During the Yahapanaya regime, nearly 600 individuals had visited the country to teach Islamic subjects in those madrasas.
However, during the Rajapaksa Government, Gotabaya Rajapaksa who was the then Defence Secretary never allowed them to enter the country and he had a good relationship with the officers at the immigration and Emigration department and at the intelligence service," the Minister said.
"If anyone applied for a VISA to visit the country to teach at these institutions, their background was sought thoroughly.
But, the Yahapanaya regime abolished all these procedures. They issued visas immediately at the airport without conducting any inquiry or asking any questions," Minister Pieris said. (Chaturanga Samarawickrama)