රැකියා ලබා දීමේ නිසි ක්‍රමවේදයක් රජයට තිබෙන බවත්, පැවති රජයන් මෙන් උසද කොටද යන්න සලකා රැකියා ලබා නොදෙන බවත් අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය ආචාර්ය හරිනි අමරසූරිය පැවසුවාය.

අයවැය විවාදයේ පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේ මතුකරන ලද ප්‍රශ්න සදහා අද (18) පිළිතුරු ලබා දෙමින් අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමිය මේ බව සඳහන කළාය.

මෙහිදී වැඩි දුරටත් අදහස් දැක් වූ අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය ආචාර්ය හරිනි අමරසූරිය,

නිදහස් අධ්‍යාපනය තුළින් ශිෂ්‍යයන් සදහා කරන වියදම් සාමාන්‍ය අධ්‍යාපනයේ ප්‍රාථමික සහ ද්විතීයික මට්ටම සදහා වෙන් වෙන්ව දත්ත නැහැ. මේ මට්ටම් දෙකටම පොදුවේ එක් ශිෂ්‍යයෙක් සඳහා 2020 සිට 2025 දක්වා පහත පරිදි වැය කර තිබෙනවා. 2020 වර්ෂයේ 60,136යි. 2021 වර්ෂයේ 63498යි 2022 වර්ෂයේ 75096යි 2023 වර්ෂයේ 87594යි, 2024 වර්ෂය සදහා97784යි. 2025 වර්ෂය සදහා ඇස්තමේන්තු ගත මුදල මිලියන 1යි 15,715ක් ලෙස වෙන් කර තිබෙනවා. තෘතියික මට්ටම සඳහා එක් එක් විෂය ධාරාව අනුව වෙනස් වෙනවා. සාමාන්‍යයෙන් උසස් අධ්‍යාපනය හදාරන දරුවෙක් වෙනුවෙන් හාරලක්ශ පන්දහස් තුන්සිය දහතුනක් වැය කරනවා. මේ තොරතුරු පුනරාවර්තන වියදම් අනුවයි ඉදිරිපත් කළේ.

නිදහස් අධ්‍යාපනය ලබන එක් ශිෂ්‍යයෙක් වෙනුවෙන් වාර්ෂිකව රජය දරන වැය බර පිළිබඳ අධ්‍යාපන අමාත්‍යංශය හෝ විශ්වවිද්‍යාල ප්‍රතිපාදන කොමිෂන් සභාව විසින් පිලිගත් අධ්‍යයනයක් මේ වෙනකම් කරලා නැහැ.

විවිධ ⁣විෂයන් යටතේ උපාධිය අවසන් කරලා රැකියා සොයා ගැනීමට ගතවන කාලය පිලිබඳ විශ්වවිද්‍යාල වල යම් යම් අධ්‍යයනයන් සිදු කර තිබෙනවා. නමුත් වාර්ෂිකව සිදු කරන අධ්‍යයන නෙමෙයි. විශ්වවිද්‍යාල අධ්‍යාපනයේ අභ්‍යන්තර, බාහිර සහ දුරස්ථ ලෙස වෙන වෙනම විස්තර ලබා ගැනීමේ හැකියාවක් නැහැ.

උපාධිධාරීන්ට රැකියා ලබා ගැනීමට ඇති ගැටළු පිලිබඳවත් විවිධ අධ්‍යයනයන් කර තිබෙනවා. ඒ අනුව පැහැදිලි වෙන්නේ උපාධිධාරී විරැකියාව පිළිබඳ එක හේතුවක් කියන්න බැහැ. විවිධ හේතු තියනවා. සාමාන්‍ය අධ්‍යාපනය තුල තිබෙන අවස්ථා මේකට ගොඩාක් බලපානවා. රැකියා ලබා ගැනීමේදී එකිනෙකා සතු සමාජ සම්බන්ධතා අනුවත් රැකියා ලබාගැනීමේ අවස්ථා තීරණය වෙනවා. විශේෂයෙන් පෞද්ගලික ක්ෂේත්‍රයේ. විරැකියාව සංකීර්ණ විෂයක්. ඒ සදහා හේතු ගණනාවක් බලපානවා.

විශ්ව විද්‍යාල ප්‍රතිපාදන කොමිෂන් සභාව විසින් නවක උපාධිධාරීන් සඳහා වෘත්තීය වැඩසටහන් ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීම වෙනුවෙන් වෘත්තීය මාර්ගෝපදේශන කමිටු පවත්වාගෙන යනු ලබනවා. විශ්ව විද්‍යාලවල තිබෙන වෘත්තිය මාර්ගෝපදේශන ඒකකවල අධ්‍යක්ෂක එහි ප්‍රධානියා ලෙස කටයුතු කරනවා. සියලුම විශ්වවිද්‍යාල පුරා, වෘත්තීය මාර්ග උපදේශන වැඩසටහන් ක්‍රියාත්මක කරනවා. උපාධි අපේක්ෂකයින් සහ කර්මාන්ත ඉල්ලුම අතර පරතරය පියවීමට රැකියා වෙළඳපොළ පවත්වන අතර පෞද්ගලික අංශයේ සහයෝගය ලබා ගැනීමට ව්‍යාපාරික සම්බන්ධතා ස්ථාපිත කර තිබෙනවා.

රජයේ පවතින පුරප්පාඩු සඳහා උපාධිධාරීන් තිස්පන් දහසක් බඳවා ගැනීමට කටයුතු කරමින් යනවා. ඒ සදහා අදාල අමාත්‍යංශය වෙත වෙන් කර ඇති ප්‍රතිපාදන වලට අමතරව අතිරේක ප්‍රතිපාදන ලෙස රුපියල් මිලියන දස දහසක් වෙන් කර තිබෙනවා. මේ අතරින් වැඩි පිරිසක් බඳවා ගන්නේ ගුරුවරුන් ලෙසයි. උපාධිධාරී ගුරුවරුන් බඳවා ගැනීම සඳහා පවතින නඩුව අවසන් වීමෙන් පසු අදාල තීන්දුව අනුව බඳවා ගැනීම් සිදුකිරීමට කටයුතු කරනවා. අනෙකුත් බඳවා ගැනීම් නියමිත බඳවා ගැනීමේ පටිපාටිය මත සිදුකරනවා.

මෙහිදී විපක්ෂ නායක සජිත් ප්‍රේමදාස මහතා නැගූ ප්‍රශ්නයකට පිළිතුරු ලබා දෙමින් අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය ආචාර්ය හරිනි අමරසූරිය මෙසේද පැවසීය.

"මම මේ ප්‍රශ්නයට මේ වන විටත් පිළිතුරු ලබාදීලා තිබෙනවා. රජයේ ‍ප්‍රතිපත්ති ප්‍රකාශයේ සඳහන් කර තිබෙන ආකාරයට අපි බඳවා ගැනීම සිදු කරනවා. මෙතෙක් පැවති ආණ්ඩු වගේ අපි හිතෙන හිතන විදිහට නිර්ණායකයක් නැතුව උසද කොටද බලලා නෙමෙයි රැකියා ලබා දෙන්නේ. යම්කිසි ක්‍රමවේදයක් තිබෙනවා.රාජ්‍ය සේවා කොමිෂන් සභාව ලබාදෙන තීන්දු තීරණ සහ ප්‍රතිපත්ති අනුව තමයි රැකියා ලබාදීම සිදුකරන්නේ. විභාග‍, සම්මුඛ පරීක්ෂණ තියලා දැනටමත් අපි නිසි ක්‍රමවේද අනුගමනය කරලා දස දහසකට ආසන්න රැකියා ප්‍රමාණයක් ලබා දීලා තිබෙනවා. රැකියා පුරප්පාඩු සම්බන්ධයෙන් අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය ලේකම්තුමාගේ ප්‍රධානත්වයෙන් කමිටුවක් තිබෙනවා. ඒ මගින් පුරප්පාඩු හඳුනාගෙන අවශ්‍ය පුරප්පාඩු පුරවන්න කටයුතු කරනවා යැයි අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය ආචාර්ය හරිනි අමරසූරිය පැවසුවාය.

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය අංශය

Ruhuna University Colombo Alumni Association presented the suggestion guidelines entitled " Think Anew, See Differently ", aimed at fostering a progressive and prosperous Sri Lankan society, to Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya today (18) at the Parliament Complex.

These suggestion guidelines outline the key recommendations, including the development of an efficient public service, development of new attitudinal change, and necessary transformations in the selected sectors such as public transportation.

In line with the occasion, a Facebook page entitled "Nawa Neth" to raise public awareness about new transformation within the nation was launched by the Prime Minister Dr. Amarasuriya.

The Prime Minister emphasized that the support of the general public along with the professionals is much need in implementing the transformations that the government envisioned and commended the initiative taken by the Ruhuna University Colombo Alumni Association in this regard.

The event was attended by the Secretary to Ruhuna University Colombo Alumni Association Mr. Lalkantha, and its convenor, Mr. Palitha Udayakantha.

Prime Minister’s Media Division

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya was presented with two books namely ’Darkness at Daybreak’ by Mr. Nandasiri Jasen Thuliyan and ’Memories of 33 Years in Parliament’ by Attorney-at-Law Mr. Nihal Senewiratne on March 15, at the Parliament premises.

Both publications were written based on parliamentary recollection of events. Notably, Mr. Nihal Senewiratne, who served as the Secretary General to Parliament for 17 years, authored ’Memories of 33 Years in Parliament’ based on his extensive 33-year tenure in parliamentary service.

The event was attended by the Attorney, Mrs. Dhanushki Liyanapatabendi.

Prime Minister’s Media Division

The investment of LKR 1.7 billion has become underutilized.

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated that the project to distribute smart boards for 1,000 schools with the goal of enhancing education has completely failed to meet its objectives and the investment of LKR 1.7 billion has been underutilized.

The Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya made these remarks in the Parliament complex on March 15, 2025 while discussing the project to establish networked classrooms by facilitating smart boards to the school system.

The Cabinet Memorandum No. AMP/24/0385/601/027 and the Cabinet decision dated March 4, 2024 has been presented for the approval of the provision of digital smart boards and other related equipment to 1,000 selected schools, with the objective of enhancing education through the establishment of a systematic network of smart classrooms within the school system funded by the Sri Lanka Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRCSL).

Subsequently, an additional Cabinet Memorandum, No. AMP/24/0978/630/009, dated May 14, 2024, was presented, proposing the implementation of this project in alignment with the project proposed by Chinese government for digitalizing Schools. Under this Chinese-funded project, plans were made to establish a centralized control center and a studio facility, along with the provision of an additional 500 smart boards. Accordingly, the integration of both projects was proposed to create a network of smart classrooms across 1,500 schools.

The cabinet decision has been presented requiring Sri Lankan Government to purchase smart boards with specifications identical to the smart boards which were proposed to be distributed by the Chinese Government.

In line with the Cabinet decision of May 14, 2024, the procurement for the 1,000 smart boards began in July 2024. However, at the time of purchase, the project proposed by the Chinese Government was still at the discussion stage, and no official agreement had been reached regarding the technical specifications of the smart boards.

However, the procurement was carried out through the Sri Lanka State Trading (General) Corporation without a competitive bidding process, relying on price quotations obtained from a single supplier based on unclear sources that were not officially verified by the Chinese government. The Sri Lanka Telecommunications Regulatory Commission incurred the full cost of LKR 1.7 billion, with an additional LKR 430 million allocated for services and installation.

The aforementioned procurement appears to have been conducted at an unusually accelerated pace when compared to the standard procedure typically followed for high-value procurements. Specifically, price quotations were requested on July 5, 2024, opened on July 15, 2024, and by July 16, 2024, the Technical Evaluation Committee had completed and submitted the report. Subsequently, the report was reviewed by the Standing Procurement Committee appointed by the Cabinet on July 17 and 18, 2024, with recommendations being provided on the same day. These recommendations were then submitted to the Cabinet on July 23, 2024, and approval was granted on July 30, 2024. Followed by this, the purchase requisition was issued to the supplier on August 5, 2024. Accordingly, the entire procurement process was completed within a span of one month.

As part of this procurement, a Letter of Credit was opened to facilitate the payment of USD 3,135,392.50 for 1,000 smart boards to Intelligent Express Limited Hong Kong, which has been identified as a representative of Huawei. While the relevant Cabinet paper indicated Huawei as the designated manufacturer supplying the smart boards under the Chinese funding project, the Chinese government has not yet confirmed the selection of such a supplier for this project.

According to aforementioned purchase requisition, the purchased smart boards and related equipment were delivered to the Ministry of Education in October 2024 and are currently stored at Pattala Gedara Teacher’s Training College. Although the procurement of the aforementioned Smart boards by the Sri Lankan Government has been finalized, the relevant project, which was intended to be implemented under the funding of Chinese government, has not yet commenced and a final agreement regarding its implementation has not been reached.

Prior to reaching a final agreement on the network integration facilities and centralized system proposed by the Chinese government, the procurement of these smart boards has resulted in the inability to utilize the equipment for the intended purpose. It is expected that the Chinese aid project is at the discussion stage, and the implementation may extend until the end of this year. Further, no official decision has been made regarding the selection of a supplier for the project.

Given this situation, if the 1,000 smart boards and other equipment currently stored in warehouses are to be distributed to schools, school principals must be provided with clear instructions on their proper use. However, due to the delay in implementing the project under the funding of the Chinese government, specific guidelines on the installation and utilization of the equipment cannot yet be issued.

Since network integration cannot be carried out at this stage, these smart boards can only be used as standalone classroom units. As a result, the objectives of the project will not be met, and the investment of LKR 1.7 billion made might be considered to be underutilized.

A formal investigation has been initiated to determine whether financial and procedural irregularities have occurred in this procurement. Additionally, discussions are currently continued with the Chinese government, and efforts are being made to secure the proposed facilities from China at the earliest convenience.

Prime Minister’s Media Division

“Women play a pivotal role in Sri Lanka’s economic and social development. Yet, despite their immense contribution, structural barriers continue to limit their full participation in the economy. Our government is committed to breaking these barriers by fostering an inclusive economic environment where women can thrive as business leaders, entrepreneurs, and exporters.” Said Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya

The Prime Minister made this statement while addressing the launching the She Trades Sri Lanka Hub funded by the UK’s She Trades Commonwealth+ Program held at Galle face Hotel in Colombo on march 14 organized by the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) and the International Trade Centre (ITC).

While addressing the audience, the Prime minister stated, the government has reaffirmed its commitment to breaking barriers that limit women’s full participation in the economy, recognizing their vital role in national development. Emphasizing gender-inclusive policies, financial inclusion, and access to global markets, authorities are prioritizing support for women-led businesses in key sectors such as ICT, agribusiness, and engineering.

A new initiative will establish 200 women-led cooperatives, fostering supportive environments for female entrepreneurs. Additionally, efforts to strengthen childcare, elderly care, and disability services aim to reduce the burdens that limit women’s economic participation.

A dedicated platform has been launched to provide women entrepreneurs with knowledge, networking, and international trade opportunities. Strengthening public-private partnerships and expanding global market access are key strategies to create an inclusive and sustainable trade ecosystem.

By equipping women with the necessary skills, financial resources, and digital trade access, the government aims to ensure that women entrepreneurs become key drivers of economic growth, aligning with broader policies for inclusive and sustainable development.

The event was attended by Ms. Pamela Coke-Hamilton, Executive Director of the International Trade Center, His Excellency Andrew Patrick, British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Officials from the International Trade Center and the British High Commission in Sri Lanka, Chairman of the Export Development Board Mr. Mangala Wijesinghe and Officials from Export Development Board and International Trade Centre and woman Entrepreneurs.

Prime Minister’s Media Division

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya met with Ms. Pamela Rosemarie Coke-Hamilton, Executive Director of the International Trade Centre (ITC), on March 12th, at the Parliament of Sri Lanka.

During the meeting both parties engaged with the discussion of key economic priorities, including digital transformation, SME development, and women’s economic empowerment. The meeting underscored the importance of inclusive economic growth through digitalization, enhanced market access, and strengthened institutional frameworks.

Discussions focused on integrating small and medium enterprises (SMEs) into the broader economy, enabling greater participation of youth and women, and implimenting investment-friendly policies to ensure long-term economic stability. The Prime Minister reiterated the government’s commitment to strengthening the rural economy, identifying key sectors such as tourism, exports, energy, IT, education, and technical and vocational education and training (TVET). Strengthening partnerships with the ITC and the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) was recognized as vital for boosting exports, particularly in organic products.

The meeting also set the stage for further collaboration, with Sri Lanka’s participation in the upcoming Global Summit in July expected to advance these discussions.

The meeting was attended by senior representatives from the United Nations, the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB), and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including Ms. Sagarika Bogahawatta, Additional Secretary to the Prime Minister, and Mr. Dharshana M. Perera, Senior Director General, Economic Affairs (Bilateral) Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Prime Minister’s Media Division