2023-07-01
News Categories : Committee News
The youth representatives present at the Sectoral Oversight Committee pointed out that the current general education system has failed to teach young convicts who have been convicted and are being punished, and training should be given to them to make progress in their spiritual and behavioral patterns.
It is more effective to provide vocational education for them and thus open them to a job, as well as introducing things like an income generation method in the remaining 2 years after the training period of about one year. Accordingly, in providing such vocational education, it would enable them to leave with some economic ability when they depart after the 3-year residency period, as well as reduce the temptation to re-offend.
These views were expressed by the Watareka Training School for Youthful Offenders and Department of Community Based Corrections under the Ministry of Justice, Prison Affairs and Constitutional Reforms as they presented themselves before Sectoral Oversight Committee on Reconciliation and National Unity.
The Sectoral Oversight Committee on National Integration met in Parliament recently under the Chairmanship of Hon. Dilan Perera, Member of Parliament.
Young offenders who have been sentenced by the Magistrates' Courts under the Criminal Code for having committed an offense between the ages of 16 - 22 are admitted to this institution. The punishment period is not a prison sentence but a compulsory 03-year waiting period and these children can apply for a government job in the external environment after the waiting period, the Senior Assistant Secretary of the Watareka Training School for Youthful Offenders Mrs. A.V. Vajira Damayanthi said.
According to institutional data, it was pointed out that the tendency of young convicts being imprisoned during the period of 2013-2022 is decreasing and it was revealed that the family relations of many children who enter this exercise college are broken and after the waiting period, problems arise regarding the custody of some children.
Schooling is provided by the Ministry of Education in Wataraka Training School for Youthful Offenders and schooling is made compulsory there. Its children appeared for the General Examination, but the passing rate is at a very low level. In the year 2014, although the number of children who appeared for the ordinary level examination was 16, the number of children who passed was one. Only one child has passed in 2021.
Officials emphasized that it is a problem to effectively provide vocational education to those children has become challenging given that school education has been made compulsory by law. Recognizing that these policies should be changed, the Committee agreed to discuss these issues with the relevant institutions and policy makers.
The Committee raised the question of how many of the young offenders are likely to be re-offenders, and the officials pointed out that 9 out of 11 children are likely to be re-offenders.
The attention of the Committee was focused on providing necessary facilities to deliver language proficiency for these children and preparing some method to refer these children for foreign jobs in affiliation with the Foreign Employment Bureau.
The Committee also pointed out that community-based correctional departments can be used to avoid overcapacity in prisons, so attention should be paid to it.
The fact that about 50% of the people who should be sent to community-based corrections, but who have been imprisoned by the magistrate, are the people who can be sent to corrections was also taken into discussion. The Committee pointed out that this is a very concerning situation and informed that the magistrates be informed to take steps in this regard.
When considering government institutions, the youth representatives pointed out that the existence of several institutions for the same purpose and the lack of interrelationship between those institutions is a problem.
During the presentation of the projects, they also proposed that income generation processes can be created by introducing projects such as green projects, plastic recycling, and drinking water bottling.
Moreover, those who earn some income with the help of the government should have the ability to pay a part of that money back to the government and invest that money for the benefit of other such people to conduct such projects. By doing so, it was pointed out that they will have the opportunity to get rid of the dependence upon government institutions for public money and provide the money needed for those institutions. They also emphasized that it is important to link the research done through the universities with the policy makers.
Members of Parliament Hon. G. G. Ponnambalam, Hon. (Ms.) Rajika Wickramasinghe and officials were present at the Committee meeting held.
2026-07-22
The draft Terms of Reference (ToR) prepared for the Parliamentary Caucus for Open Parliament Initiative was approved recently at a meeting held in Parliament with the participation of Parliament's development partner organizations.The approval was granted during a meeting of the Caucus chaired by its Co-Chair, Hon. Member of Parliament Shanakkiyan Rajaputhiran Rasamanickam.The draft Terms of Reference was developed based on proposals and recommendations received during a workshop organized by the Caucus in recent months to gather stakeholder input for its preparation.The meeting also agreed that, following the approval of the Terms of Reference, the document would be submitted to Hon. President, and that a discussion would be held with the President on behalf of the Caucus.
2026-07-22
The Sub-Committee appointed by the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) focused its attention on the methodology, implementation timeline and coordination arrangements relating to the research study proposed for the restructuring of the Sri Lanka Institute of Advanced Technological Education (SLIATE), when it met recently, at Parliament under the Chairmanship of Hon. Member of Parliament Ruwan Mapalagama.During the meeting, discussions were held on the establishment of the proposed Institutional Operations Committee and a six-member Coordination Team to facilitate the implementation of the research. Attention was also focused on the proposed Mixed-Methods Design, the preparation of questionnaires and the data collection process.The Sub-Committee further reviewed the progress of obtaining public views on the restructuring of SLIATE. Matters relating to obtaining the contribution of the Human Resources and Management Information Systems (MIS) divisions for the research, the preparation of the research implementation timeline through a Gantt Chart, and the stakeholder consultations to be held with representatives of the industry sector were also considered.The programme to obtain the views of stakeholders, including Chambers of Commerce, industry associations and professional bodies, as well as the conduct of field visits to selected SLIATE institutions across the country, was also discussed.The Sub-Committee decided to proceed with the future activities of the research in accordance with the agreed timeline and to present the relevant progress reports at its next meeting.Hon. Member of Parliament Lieutenant Commander (Retired) Prageeth Madhuranga also attended the meeting.
2026-07-22
The Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) focused its attention on referring the matters revealed in relation to land misuse, financial irregularities and administrative deficiencies at the National Housing Development Authority (NHDA) to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) for a formal investigation.The matter was taken up when the Committee met recently at Parliament under the Chairmanship of Hon. Member of Parliament (Dr.) Nishantha Samaraweera to continue its examination of the Auditor General's Reports for the years 2022 and 2023 and to consider the remaining matters relating to the current performance of the National Housing Development Authority.During the meeting, lengthy discussions were held regarding the leasing of valuable NHDA-owned lands located at Maligawatta, Elvitigala Mawatha and Rangirigama, Dambulla to external parties at low nominal values without Cabinet approval, the use of such lands for purposes contrary to the conditions stipulated in the relevant agreements, and the failure to adequately safeguard the Authority's assets.The Committee observed that many of these transactions had been carried out in contravention of the objectives of the National Housing Development Authority and the relevant legal provisions. Accordingly, the Committee recommended that comprehensive reports on the identified irregularities be referred to the Criminal Investigation Department and the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption for the institution of appropriate legal action.The Committee also instructed the officials to expedite internal audit investigations into these matters, identify the officers responsible and initiate disciplinary action against them. Furthermore, the Committee recommended that the necessary measures be taken to strengthen asset management and internal control systems in order to prevent the recurrence of such irregularities in the future.The meeting was attended by Hon. Members of Parliament Attorney-at-Law Dayasiri Jayasekara, S.M. Marikkar, Attorney-at-Law Sujeewa Senasinghe, Mujibur Rahman, Chaminda Wijesiri, Dr. S. Sri Bavanandarajah, Sunil Rajapaksha, Thilina Samarakoon, Chandima Hettiarachchi, Asitha Niroshana Egodavithana, Ruwan Mapalagama, Jagath Manuwarna, Dinesh Hemantha, M.K.M. Aslam and Sudath Balagalla.
2026-07-21
Discussions focus on strengthening disability-inclusive legislation and policy implementationThe Parliamentary Caucus for Persons with Disabilities held discussions with the United Nations Resident Coordinator and representatives of several United Nations agencies at Parliament with a view to strengthening cooperation in promoting the rights of persons with disabilities and advancing disability-inclusive legislation and policies in Sri Lanka.The meeting was held in Parliament under the Chairmanship of the Chair of the Parliamentary Caucus for Persons with Disabilities, Hon. Member of Parliament Sugath Wasantha de Silva recently.Addressing the meeting, the United Nations Resident Coordinator, Mr. Marc-André Franche, commended the Parliament for establishing the Parliamentary Caucus for Persons with Disabilities and emphasized the importance of treating disability inclusion as a national priority across all sectors. He reaffirmed the commitment of the United Nations to provide technical expertise and institutional support in areas including legislative reforms, accessibility, inclusive education, employment, community-based rehabilitation and strengthening national coordination.The UNICEF Representative, Ms. Begoña Arellano, highlighted the need to safeguard the rights of children with disabilities, particularly in relation to health, nutrition and education, while emphasizing the important oversight role of Parliament in ensuring the effective implementation of disability-inclusive policies.Representatives of UNFPA, UNDP, ILO and UN Volunteers also briefed the Caucus on ongoing initiatives relating to youth, education, disability data collection, employment opportunities and social inclusion.During the meeting, the Minister of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment, Hon. (Dr.) Upali Pannilage, informed the Caucus that the proposed Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill and the Sign Language Bill are currently with the Attorney General's Department and are expected to be presented to Parliament on September 2026. He further stated that measures are underway to improve accessibility in public institutions, expand employment opportunities, introduce educational grants for university students with disabilities and establish ten day-care centres for children with disabilities within this year.The Caucus also discussed future initiatives, including the preparation of disability-inclusive budget proposals by Government Ministries, the finalisation of a national disability database and the conduct of a sensitisation programme for journalists to promote a rights-based approach to disability related reporting.The meeting concluded with the Chair, Hon. Sugath Wasantha de Silva, reiterating the Caucus's core theme, "An unhindered social life," and calling for continued, unified collaboration to make an inclusive society a reality.The meeting was attended by the Deputy Co-Chairs of the Caucus, Hon. Gayantha Karunathilleka, and Hon. (Dr.) Pathmanathan Sathiyalingam, the Minister of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment, Hon. (Dr.) Upali Pannilage, Members of Parliament and representatives of the United Nations Resident Coordinator's Office, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNDP, ILO and UN Volunteers.
Handbook of Parliament
The System of Elections in Sri Lanka
How Parliament Works
Business of Parliament
Copyright © The Parliament of Sri Lanka.
All Rights Reserved.
Design & Developed by TekGeeks
