President Gotabaya Rajapaksa urged the education authorities not to let COVID-19 pandemic hinder the implementation of plans for the advancement of education from pre-school to university level.

The prime objective of the Government is the development of the human resource and the future generation of the country must be equipped with knowledge, skills and competencies to make them productive citizens, the President said emphasizing that the initiatives launched by the Government in this regard should not be hindered due to the prevailing situation. 

The President’s remarks came during a discussion held at the Presidential Secretariat on Wednesday (09) to review the steps taken by the Ministry of Education and all the State Ministries under its purview to meet the expected objectives.

The National Policy Framework “Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour” prioritizes the expeditious formulation of a national education policy and another objective is to develop the country’s education structure up to a level where children can learn from pre-school to undergraduate level under a single syllabus with a specific objective in line with international standards, the PMD said in a statement.

The strategies presented by the Ministry of Education and other related Ministries such as   State Ministry of Education Reforms, Promotion of Open Universities and Distance Learning, State Ministry of Dhamma Schools, Bhikku Education, Pirivenas and Buddhist Universities , State Ministry of Women and Child Development, Pre-School & Primary Education, School Infrastructure & Education Services and State Ministry of Skills Development, Vocational Education, Research & Innovation were separately reviewed  by the President to achieve this set target.

Education Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris, State Ministers Susil Premajayantha, Piyal Nishantha, Vijitha Berugoda, Seetha Arambepola, Secretary to the President P.B. Jayasundera and the relevant Secretaries of the Ministries were present at the discussion.