2025-06-11
News Categories : Committee News
It was decided to appoint 6 sub-committees for new reforms in the fields of education, higher education and vocational education at the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education.
The committee was held in Parliament on 2025.06.03 Chaired by the Hon. Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, Hon. Deputy Minister of Education and Higher Education (Dr.) Madhura Senevirathna and Hon. Deputy Minister of Vocational Education Nalin Hewage.
Accordingly, the Sub-Committee on Education Reforms is chaired by Dr. Harini Amarasuriya and consists of Hon. Members of Parliament Anura Karunathilaka, Rohini Kumari Wijerathna, Gnanamuththu Srineshan, and Sunil Rajapaksha.
The Sub-Committee appointed to look into the Shortage of Human and Physical Resources in Schools is chaired by Dr. Kaushalya Ariyarathne and consists of Hon. Members of Parliament Mayilvaganam Jegatheeswaran, Chandana Tennakoon, Sugath Wasantha de Silva, and Darmapriya Wijesinghe.
The Sub-Committee pertaining to the Enrolment of Children to Schools for Intermediate Grades is chaired by Samanmali Gunasinghe and consists of Hon. Members of Parliament Aboobucker Athambawa, Sanjeewa Ranasinghe, and R.M. Samantha Ranasinghe.
The Sub-Committee on the Establishment of an Education Council is chaired by Mahinda Jayasinghe and consists of Hon. Members of Parliament M.L.A.M. Hizbullah, Dr. V.S. Radhakrishnan, Manjula Suraweera Arachchi and Ruwan Mapalagama.
The Sub-Committee on the Higher Education Sector is chaired by (Dr.) Madhura Senevirathna and consists of Hon. Members of Parliament (Dr) Upali Pannilage, Rajeevan Jeyachandramoorthy, Nimal Palihena and Manjula Sugath Rathnayaka.
The Sub-Committee pertaining to the Skills Education Sector is chaired by Nalin Hewage and consists of Hon. Members of Parliament D.V. Chanaka, Sivagnanam Shritharan and Imran Maharoof.
Several Members of Parliament drew the attention of the committee to issues such as ensuring that students with disabilities are not discriminated against during university admission as well as within universities, and improving their facilities; along with issues in schools in different regions of the country, including teacher shortages. The Hon. Prime Minister instructed relevant officials to take immediate action in this regard and stated that the government will intervene promptly for the necessary policy changes.
Ministers, Deputy Ministers, and Members of Parliament as well as the Chief of Staff and Secretary General of Parliamentary Chaminda Kularatne, Secretary to the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education Nalaka Kaluwawa, Director Legislative Servises / Director Communication (Acting) M. Jayalath Perera, and Assistant Director of the Consultative Committee Secretariat Udaya Munasinghe, along with several other officials were present at this committee meeting held.
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.
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