President hints at declaring schools as an essential service

President Ranil Wickremesinghe emphasized that he will not allow the school children of Sri Lanka to be held hostage by various groups.

The President said that he believes that the problems in the education sector can be resolved quickly through discussions; failing which he will have to submit a Bill to Parliament to make schools an essential service.

The President made this statement during the National Ceremony where free textbooks and uniforms were distributed to students and student monks, by the Ministry of Education which was held at Sanghamitta Balika Vidyalaya in Colombo this morning (23).

In this event organized by the Ministry of Education, the President symbolically awarded textbooks and uniforms to 40 student monks, sil mātā and students.

70% of the school uniforms related to the year 2023 have been received as a grant from the Chinese Government and all of them have been distributed throughout the islands by now. The rest of the uniforms are provided by local businesses. School textbooks printed by the Department of Government Printing and local suppliers using raw materials obtained with Indian assistance were officially distributed.

These uniforms and textbooks are provided to students of Government schools and Government-aided schools and student monks who are studying in Pirivenas.