2024-07-17
News Categories : Committee News
The program of handing over the ownership of the land where the estate sector schools are located was discussed in the Parliamentary Caucus for the evolution of the Malaiyaga Plantation Community. This was discussed when the caucus met in Parliament recently (July 10) under the chairmanship of Member of Parliament Hon. Velu Kumar.
Officials representing the Ministry of Education, Provincial Education Department, Plantation Management Monitoring Division, Sri Lanka State Plantation Corporation, Janatha Estates Development Board, Elkaduwa Plantation Ltd and Land Reform Commission participated in this meeting.
The chairman pointed out that the program of handing over the lands where the estate schools are located to the schools has made significant progress with the intervention of the caucus. It was agreed here that the Ministry of Education and the Provincial Education Departments should complete the data on the number of estate sector schools in Sri Lanka, the amount of land required for those schools and the number of schools with specific land requirements etc. by the coming week and to confirm the accuracy of the said data. The chair mentioned that the relevant land surveying activities can then be started.
It was also discussed to change the cabinet decision given to maximum 02 acres of land for estate-sector schools and present a new cabinet paper so that the extent of land can be given to each school based on the need.
Apart from that, the officers also explained about the provision of 60 smart classrooms for estate schools in Sri Lanka based on loan assistance from the Indian High Commission, as well as the provision of 800 smart television sets and smart boards under the said assistance.
Also, there was a lengthy discussion about the shortage of teachers in estate schools, and the lack of schools where students can study Advanced Level in mathematics and science streams.
Opposition Leader Hon. Sajith Premadasa, Members of Parliament Hon. Sujith Sanjay Perera, Hon. J. C. Alawathuwala, Hon. Ashok Abeysinghe, Hon. Selvaraja Kajendran, Hon. Rohini Wijeratne and Hon. V. Radhakrishnan were present in the meeting.
2026-06-19
The Ministerial Consultative Committee on Environment focused its attention on the issue of water pollution in the Kelani River when it met in Parliament recently (10th June) under the chairmanship of the Hon. Minister of Environment, Dr. Dammika Patabendi.During the meeting, the Committee was briefed on the progress of discussions being held with companies that have expressed willingness to invest in a project aimed at cleaning the waters of the Kelani River.The Committee also discussed a number of proposals and other issues raised by Hon. Members of Parliament.The meeting was attended by Hon. Members of Parliament and officials.
2026-06-18
A meeting of the Women Parliamentarians Caucus was held in Parliament recently to discuss the importance of incorporating Gender-Responsive Budgeting into Sri Lanka’s national budget formulation process and to examine the challenges associated with its implementation.The meeting was chaired by the Chairperson of the Caucus and Hon. Minister of Women and Child Affairs, Saroja Savithri Paulraj. Hon. Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya also participated in the discussion.A key concern raised during the discussion was the lack of adequate data and indicators to accurately assess and measure women’s economic contributions within the budgetary process. Drawing on examples of approaches adopted in India and other countries, members of the Caucus underscored the need to identify and address existing systemic and technical gaps in Sri Lanka’s budgeting framework.The Caucus also emphasized the importance of disaggregating data by gender in project reporting and strengthening digital data management systems to support such efforts. It was further noted that identifying relevant gender-related considerations at the initial stages of project design and implementation at the ministerial level would facilitate more effective project analysis, monitoring, and evaluation of outcomes.The need to move away from existing traditional and time-consuming methods towards formal online systems and data-driven analytical tools was also emphasized.The current progress and challenges in integrating Gender-Responsive Budgeting into Sri Lanka’s public financial policy were discussed in detail during the meeting.It was also emphasized that such budgeting should not be limited to nominal percentages in documents, but that the need to establish a formal framework and data system to ensure it has a real and practical impact was also highlighted.The Hon.Deputy Chairperson of Committees Hemalee Weerasekera, Hon. Deputy Minister Dr. Kaushalya Ariyarathne, Co-Vice Chairpersons of the Caucus, Hon. Members of Parliament Chamindrani Kiriella, Attorney at Law and Samanmalee Gunasinghe, Hon. Members of Parliament Thushari Jayasinghe, Attorney at Law, Krishnan Kaleichelvi, Sagarika Athauda ,Attorney at Law, Nilanthi Kottahachchi, Attorney at Law, Ambika Samivel and Lakmali Hemachandra, Attorney at Law, along with a group of officials from the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, also participated in the event.
2026-06-17
The Ministerial Consultative Committee on Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government met recently (Jun. 12) at Parliament under the chairmanship of the Hon. Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government, Prof. A.H.M.H. Abayarathna.During the meeting, Members of Parliament discussed a range of issues and proposals relating to their respective electorates, as well as several other matters of public importance.Hon. Members of Parliament and officials were present at the meeting.
2026-06-17
The Ministerial Consultative Committee on Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs met recently (Jun. 09) at Parliament under the chairmanship of the Hon. Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, Dr. Hiniduma Sunil Senevi.During the meeting, Members of Parliament discussed a number of proposals and issues, including reviewing the progress of discussions initiated with the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education and the Department of Examinations regarding the formulation of regulations to prevent the conduct of private tuition classes on Sunday mornings, thereby facilitating the holding of Dhamma School classes on Sundays.The meeting was attended by Hon. Deputy Ministers, Hon. Members of Parliament and officials.
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
