English module fiasco exposes Govt’s limitations despite house majority

• The government’s retreat on education reforms proves that even a record-breaking parliamentary majority cannot override Sri Lanka’s deeply rooted religious and cultural ethos.

The NPP government’s decision to shelve education reforms for one year highlights the limits of political power. Despite holding 159 seats, the administration was forced to backtrack after an inappropriate web link in a Grade VI English module sparked a national outcry, uniting religious leaders and opposition parties against the project.   

In the face of mounting pressure, the government took a step back and shelved the implementation of education reforms for one year.
The mention of an inappropriate web link in the English-language text module for Grade VI sparked the debate, adding considerable heat on the government. The lesson was intended to focus on identifying online friends. However, the web link provided directed students to content involving people with different sexual orientations. 
The criticism was that it was entirely inappropriate to expose children, at such a tender age, to information related to homosexuality. The government tried to brush it off as inadvertent, but critics never bought it. There is a reason for that. There cannot be the slightest scope for a mistake, even a minuscule one, in a school textbook meant to condition the minds of those set to take charge of the country’s future. The content must be checked, rechecked, double-checked, and cross-checked for accuracy by competent professionals in the education sector.
Under the National People’s Power (NPP) government, Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya is in charge of the education sector. 
She is someone who openly advocates for LGBTQ rights. This position is also recognised in the NPP manifesto. Therefore, people have reason to doubt whether the inclusion of such a website in a school text module was purely inadvertent. Criticism that originated from teachers’ and principals’ trade unions grew into a noisy chorus, with opposition political parties joining in a bid to corner the government. The matter eventually reached the religious clergy. 
The Mahanayake Theras and Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith were openly critical of such an approach in the education reforms. They did not object to education reforms as such, but to what they described as immoral content in textbooks.
Finally, the government yielded to pressure from society and backtracked on the implementation of education reforms. It is a major setback for the government. People elected the NPP with a thumping majority. The party trounced the traditional political parties and secured the largest-ever parliamentary majority. It now has 159 MPs in the House. Still, the party could not move ahead with one of its passion projects because of protest. People always hold sway. 
Parliamentary majority alone is not the sole factor that empowers a government in pursuing policy implementation. The country’s religious and cultural ethos prevail, despite the government upholding secularism.
It is learnt that the Mahanayake Theras were to write to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake asking for a review of the proposed education reforms. Even before any such request was made, Cabinet Spokesman and Health Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa announced that the government would pause the implementation of education reforms for one year.
In that sense, the government saved face. Had it waited for a letter from the Mahanayake Theras, such a pause would have been even more humiliating.
It is a gain for the opposition. Yet, the opposition is not fully successful either. It demanded the ouster of the Prime Minister from office over the incident and is now mulling the move of a no-confidence motion against her in Parliament.
Such an action would have only symbolic value for the opposition—mainly the Samagi Jana Balawegaya and the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP). The entire opposition is numerically much weaker than the government in Parliament. The government commands 159 members—a regimented team carrying out party orders. As such, the opposition’s effort can easily be thwarted by the government in the House using its majority.
Over the text module fiasco, the government would have taken stock of the situation critically. However, that is very much an internal matter. It will not allow the opposition to outstrip it in Parliament in the event of a no-confidence motion. 
Actually speaking, the government cannot concede defeat through the resignation of its Prime Minister at the behest of the opposition. Such a defeat for a government in only its second year in office would be a fatal blow. Therefore, it will remain united in Parliament and protect the Prime Minister, come what may, despite internal differences.
If the no-confidence motion is allowed to be debated in the House, the opposition will, however, get the opportunity to flay the government. In fact, that is the sole intention of the opposition—to tear the government apart and gain media limelight. The relevance of a no-confidence motion has also diminished since the government has halted the implementation of education reforms.
In general, everyone across society accepts education reforms. The controversial web link merely triggered the debate. The government failed to adopt a consensual approach on such an important subject. Lack of consensus across the political divide has always hindered progress in Sri Lanka. In the past, at one point, the two sides—the government and the opposition—even failed to agree on the provision of electronic tablets to schoolchildren instead of textbooks.
The government has a mandate to implement many promises. The introduction of a new Constitution is one such pledge. However, it is now doubtful how consensus can be reached on such a complex subject under the prevailing circumstances. Openness and wider engagement will only help.