Education reforms - twist of fate for the government: Harsha

By Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana   

Education reforms which the present government has come up with is a twist of fate where the government is concerned as it contains proposals which education ministers had come out with in the past, an opposition MP told Parliament yesterday.   
“We see that the new education reforms proposed by current Education Minister Premier Harini Amarasuriya comprises what former President Ranil Wickremesinghe came up in his white paper of education back in 1981, what one time Secretary Education Tara de Mel came up with later. He said the technology subject scheme which the Prime Minister intends introducing was originally introduced by one time education minister Bandula Gunawardene. In fact it was Mr. Gunawardene who introduced technology scheme for the first time during the Mahinda Rajapaksa administration. The new proposals comprise some of the concepts of Yahapalana government Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam and what was proposed by the government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2020,” he said.   
“Accordingly it is a twist of fate where the government is concerned as those who rule the country opposed the reforms proposed by education ministers from time to time in the past,” Dr. De Silva said.   
The MP said the opposition does not intend to play politics with education reforms and urged the government to accept proposals which are proposed by them. “ We hope that the government will accept our proposals as well,” he said in this regard.