Present education system needs to be revitalized

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday said the present education system needs to be revitalized. He pointed out that the present school system has lost its momentum to a certain degree where as a large number of tuition classes and international schools have taken over the education system.

The Prime Minister warranted innovative thinking as a part of the revitalization process of the education system. He also pointed out that a few decades ago, there were very good schools centered in each main city.

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe was speaking at a ceremony held yesterday (3rd Nov.) at St. Joseph’s College, Colombo to celebrate Catholic Teachers’ Day.

The Prime Minister also said that parents are going through many hardships to find a good school for their children and expressed surprise at the amount of money that parents have to pay for international schools.

He said discussions are ongoing with regard to providing more support for semi-government schools.

Present government is to promote the concept where such government funded schools will act as mentors for their closest and selected schools, he added.  Premier Wickremesinghe pointed out that such a concept will generate a win-win situation for both parties.

While commending the excellent role played by semi-government schools in providing quality education, Premier Wickremesinghe said the move to nationalize all schools in 1961 had more negative results for the education system than good points.

Premier Wickremesinghe also pointed out that in order to revive the education system, the need for qualified teachers is a must. (CDN)