Reply To:
Name - Reply Comment
Deputy Minister defends ‘buddy’ remarks
Colombo, January 26 (Daily Mirror) - Deputy Minister Mahinda Jayasinghe has defended his recent comments in Parliament on the term “buddy,” saying his remarks were based on content found in a Grade 11 Information and Communication Technology (ICT) textbook and not on his own technical expertise.
Speaking to the media, Jayasinghe said he had referred to a lesson on page 77 of the Grade 11 ICT textbook, which explains how to send messages and includes the word “buddy” as one of the tools mentioned. He said he also checked online search results for the term after teachers drew his attention to it.
“I am not an expert on this subject. I only referred to what is in the textbook. When teachers pointed it out, I searched the word ‘buddy’ online and saw several links,” he said.
Jayasinghe claimed that one of the links led to a controversial website that had also been included in the Grade 6 English module, which has recently come under public scrutiny.
He further said a Forbes article had flagged another link found in the Grade 11 ICT textbook as having a possible connection to child abuse, particularly involving children between the ages of three and 12.
According to Jayasinghe, the Grade 11 ICT textbook in question was published in 2015 during the Maithri–Ranil–Sajith administration and remains in use. He said the inclusion of such links had gone unnoticed for more than a decade.
The Deputy Minister has come under criticism after linking content from two different school textbooks during a parliamentary session while commenting on controversial web links appearing in educational material.
Comments - 15
Recommended
You May Also Like
Trending
