JVP request govt. to allocate 6% GDP for Education

Colombo (News 1st): Today (March 15) is the third day of the budget debate. The expenditure heads of a number of ministries including the Ministry of Education was taken up for debate today. Speaking in parliament JVP MP Bimal Rathnayake requested the government to allocate 6% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for education. He noted that this was reduced to 1.7%  during the Rajapaksa regime and now the committee on public finance says it is 1.04%. MP Ratnayake noted that in 2017 it was 1.34% and 2018 - 1.27%. He stressed that funding for education is being cut under the Maithri-Ranil era, even more than the Rajapakse era. The parliamentarian went onto note that providing scholarships for 14 Advanced Level students is good but it is similar to reality singing competitions. He said there are close to a hundred thousand competitors but at the end of the day only one person wins the competition, this will be carried around all year. MP Rathnayake noted that the minister had transferred minor labourers from Kuliyapitiya to Mannar and Vavuniya. The parliamentarian noted that the minister had managed to get his face into the covers of textbooks. Therefore, he requested Minister Kariyawasam not to fall to such a low position as he is a person holding a respectable ministerial portfolio. He pointed out that according to rumours over Rs. 29 million was spent on printing the minister's face on textbooks. Responding to this Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam noted that they are making false statements regarding him. He noted that he can prove that the Government has not spent even an additional rupee in printing his face on textbooks along with his message. Minister noted that if they successfully prove these statements he will resign from his ministerial portfolio. Do you recall how the General Secretary of the Ceylon Electricity Board Employees' Union Ranjan Jayalal yesterday made a revelation on the interference of politicians in providing government jobs? Ranjan Jayalal noted that the people in Siyambalanduwa, Ampara had given Rs. 500,000 in return for an employment opportunity. He added that they will bring these employees to court if they file a defamation case against them as these were not fake promissory notes. We are not claiming that anyone accepted money to recruit employees at the Ministry of Education. But, unethical practices are followed in both of these instances.

Leaders of trade unions in the education sector!

If you are in possession of any information on such incidents, please reveal it to the general public.