The Minister of Education Professor G.L. Peiris said that the relevant plans will be able to implement by 2022 / 2023 so as to save about 08 months time of the valuable lives of the children by reducing the 08 months time they spend at home being away from education after the general certificate of education ordinary level examination and the advanced level examination. The minister stated this on 10.05.2021 while participating in a media discussion at Nelum Mawatha, Battaramulla.  

Many of the education reforms that are scheduled to be implemented by the new government have been discussed. Some of the students tend to give up the education activities in the midst because of the time they spend at homes away from school education after sitting for examinations. These reforms expect to avoid that situation and to give opportunities to the children in Sri Lanka to go for higher studies as soon as possible, he said. The minister emphasized that the children in other countries in the world obtain their first degree by the age of 20 or 21 and his expectation is to give that opportunity to the children in Sri Lanka too.  

The minister also said that as a remedy for this situation the plans will be formulated to design the curricula to change the dates of holding G.C.E. Ordinary Level Examination and to reduce the 02 years duration of study for the grades 10 and 11 to be 1 ½ years. Accordingly, the plans will be formulated to hold the ordinary level exam in August that was held in December earlier and to release the results in November or December and also to give the opportunity to enter the advanced level classes in schools in January next year. The plans are being devised to hold the advanced level exam in December after completing 06 study terms and give the opportunity for the students to enter a local or foreign university reducing the time for directing the students to higher education by 08 months time. This will be finalized by the years 2022 or 2023 and it is expected to give its benefits to the students, he said.    

The problem in vaccination with regard to the current issue of covid 19 in the country is the laboratory in “Seerum” institution in Pune, India that produces the largest number of vaccines has been unable to produce the expected number of vaccines due to the influence of covid in that country. Therefore providing vaccines will be delayed, he said. At the moment 03 types of vaccines are being used in the country and it is important to provide those vaccines but some Gramasewa divisions and police areas have been closed as required and when the situation becomes normal these will be reopened, the minister said. He further emphasized that the government is ready to take different measures also. The government is also ready to enforce the restrictions as necessary for travelling from one district to another and from one province to another. The government has not completely rejected any activity and is ready to take measures considering the necessary steps to control covid 19. The government is ready to take decisions to suit the occasion after considering all essential factors such as the income of the country, the people having daily income, the livelihoods of the people etc.  And also the government always thinks about this matter practically and with a flexible attitude, the minister emphasized.        

He further mentioned that the online education implemented for the school children at the moment is totally not an alternative for classroom teaching but in the rise of the problem of covid 19 faced by the entire world, it is a practical endeavor.