Budget : Committee Stage — 13th Day

Votes of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education

The sphere of education in this country is going through a crisis
- Amunugama

Parliament met at 9.30 a.m. yesterday with Speaker K. B. Ratnayake in the chair.

Secretary General of Parliament Bertram Tittawella read the letters of resignations tendered the previous day by MPs S. B. Navinna, Gamini Jayawickrama Perera and Asoka Wadigamangawa who are contesting the NWPC elections.

After presentation of petitions and reports and Ministers answered oral questions House sat in Committee to consider Votes of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education.

Dr. Sarath Amunugama (UNP - Kandy District) opening the debate for the opposition moved a cut of Rs. 10 from the votes of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education.

He said: The sphere of education in this country is going through a crisis. There is now a protest campaign by graduates. We must now examine how we can restructure education so that it could create a contented society, a society free from unrest.

Education does not mean the buildings, the bricks and cement. Education neither means bureaucrats. It means the teachers. They are the people who finally impart education to society. More important among the teachers are the principles of schools.

The cadre of Grade I School Principals is 3303, Grade II. 5544 and Grade III 4776.

There is now a case before the court. The case has been filed by the principals of schools.

These principals' service was created by the UNP government under the Minute of Principals Service.

It is necessary now to decide whether we should include the Head Masters of schools within this Minute.

This question has not been solved for 5 years. As a result of the failure to find a solution to this issue over 12,000 Head Masters are living in a state of uncertainty. They are not sure what would happen when they retire.

There is a big anomaly in schools due to the failure to resolve the problem. In schools the teachers draw higher salaries than the principals. This has humiliated Principals. They cannot maintain discipline among teachers due to the higher salaries drawn by teachers which had led to a superiority complex among teachers.

This is very unfair. There is no reason why this problem cannot be solved. You are contemplating introducing far reaching reforms in the educational system of this country. How can you implement such reforms when you cannot resolve the problem of 12,000 Head Masters?

You must apologise to the Head Masters for this great injustice caused to them by you.

Why are you trying to exclude these head masters from the salary scheme?

You have reinstated about 6000 teachers under the pretext of political victimization during UNP rule. Some cases may be genuine but the majority are persons sacked for proven misconduct. Some were sacked for misappropriation of school funds. There are also persons guilty of child abuse. All these persons have come back for service. Students and the people know that the reinstated teacher was found guilty of an offence. What is the answer you have to give them?

Perhaps you as the Minister is not aware of the circumstances under which they have returned to service. They have got themselves reinstated by bribing officials in higher positions.

Richard Pathirana (Minister of Education and Higher Education) said: The teachers service was established after our government came to power. Under the previous regime there was no promotion scheme. We also solved salary anomalies and increased the salaries of teachers.

We have also taken steps to reduce the rush for popular schools by upgrading several selected schools in each province.

The number of university entrants were increased by us. We improved hostel facilities and took steps to stop ragging. An Act was brought to Parliament to ban ragging. The backlog was reduced, with our intervention. We have also taken steps to improve relations between these higher education institutions and the business community. The number of universities were increased. The university syllabuses were revised and the training programme for lecturers have been established.

Career Guidence Centres have been set up in Kelaniya, Colombo and Peradeniya. The UNP who ruled the country for 31 years is pointing an accusing finger at us,.

(Interruptions)

I don't mind interruptions from Mrs. Renuka Herath. Education reforms have been designed according to recommendations of the National Education Commission report. A total overhaul of the primary education system to suit the needs of the present day will be initiated next year. By 2003 primary education reforms will be in place under this programme.

Tourism management, Textile designing, polymer engineering and nurses training are some of the new subjects that have been inculcated into the university education system.

Over 90 percent of university students receive bursary as we increased the number of students that qualify for this allowance under the minimum requirement.

The Principal's service will be established. Non-academic staff will also benefit from this scheme. A selected number of principals will be sent abroad for training. If a principal complains that a teacher working under him draws a higher salary in accordance with his experience, I think he is not fit to be a principal.

The university entrance exam will not discriminate anybody nor will it shut out free education from those who aspire for it.

The GCE A/L reforms are now in place. The time saved from confining the A/L syllabus to 3 subjects will be used for more productivity. The examinations that were held to test the new university entrance paper was successful.

I have presented four supplementary estimates to Parliament to meet the costs of transformation of the education system as I explained.

Sarath Amunugama: What is the use of the budget then?

The responsibility to fix the ailing education system in this country has fallen on us and we need a substantial amount of funds to restructure the entire system.

Lakshman Yapa Abeywardane (UNP-Matara District) said: We did not object when you proposed to reduce the four advanced level subjects to three. But we on various occasions expressed our views on the subject.

Has the other ministries conducted a survey to determine the numbers of graduates the country requires in each disciplines.

Today there are about 30,000 jobless graduates. The graduate unemployment problem has been aggravated as a result of your dissolution of the Graduates Placement Committee.

We have still not succeeded in formulating a transfer policy for teachers. Circulars have been issued but there are loopholes always.

You must change the year 5 scholarship scheme. According to figures available out of 2447 year 5 students who entered good schools only 564 have entered universities. This is already 23.3 percent of the total. The percentage of those who did not attend universities is about 76.7 percent.

R. Sampanthan (TULF-Trincomalee district) said: The appointments of Tamil medium teachers is far short of the requirements. A great deal of frustration and bitterness has been caused particularly in the North and East amongst the Tamil youth. We have a severe shortage of teachers in Maths, Science and English and also in the primary sections. This is a blatant injustice to the Tamil people.

I would expect an answer from the minister as to how he would fill up the existing 6,000 vacancies.

The government should recruit retired teachers to meet the shortage. Aesthetic education is also neglected in the North and East. The development of schools in the North East have been confined to Ampara.

Jagath Balasuriya (PA-Kegalle Dist.) said: There isn't enough attention paid to non-academic education, which is also an essential component of education. The UNESCO has provided guidelines on education reform. It is important that we consider these recommendations as well.

P. Chandrakumar (EPDP-Jaffna District) said: War has affected the North-Eastern student psychologically. There are large number of students in Vanni who cannot go to school.

The North-East was an area of great educational reawakening in the past. There had been great Tamil scholars and today the situation is sorrowful.

The ban on transport of batteries and other equipment is denying the students of the North the chances of developing technical and scientific education.

We appreciate there is Tamil representation in the University Grants Commission but the ethnic quota has not been adhered to when appointments are made to the staff of the Commission.

Before 1972 university entrance was on the basis of merit. After standardisation was introduced the number of Tamil students entering universities dropped. Now less than 500 Tamil students enter universities.

Temporary arrangements should be made to enable admission of more Tamil students until the situation returns to normal.

There are serious shortcomings at the Jaffna University. These should be looked into. A faculty of law should be opened in the Jaffna university.

Bennet Cooray (PA-Colombo District) said: Education was basic to all economic advancements of a country. The country is suffering due to the lack of co-operation between the two sides of the decade. Now it has become the duty for us back benches to compel the front benches of both sides to co-operate in national issues.

I must thank the ministers too undertaking to expedite the constitution of the principals service.

In my view education should be the duty of the centre. The decentralisation of education to provinces has created problems.

The Registrar of the Colombo University has committed serious irregularities. He is alleged to have made certain illegal appointments. The O. S. M. Seneviratne Commission has made some adverse comments about him. There are also complaints of a dubious deal with regard to a house belonging to him. He has been sent on leave pending completion of an inquiry against him. While on leave he is also alleged to have come to the university and removed some files, according to information.

Sunil Shantha Ranaweera (UNP-Trincomalee district) Education facilities in the North and East specially in remote areas are woefully inadequate. Zonal education offices in Trincomalee should be increased to improve education services in these areas.

A Muslim zonal education office in Batticaloa should be established.

Y. Balachandran (DPLF-Vanni district) said: It will not be possible to implement the proposed education reforms in the North due to the war.

Computer education should also be introduced to Vanni district too. There are 10,000 vacancies for Tamil teachers. I hope the government would fill them early.

In my view the education is partly responsible for the current situation in the country.

H. M. Weerasinghe (PA-Ampara district) said: I suggest that a school in each of the towns of Dehiattakandiya, Padiyatalawa and Uhana be declared a national school.

There was an interview in Ampara district to recruit minor employees. There had been widespread corruption.

Tissa Attanayake (Kandy district) said: I urge the minister to make arrangements to ensure that every province receives an equal amount from ADB funds for development of education in 1999. This year there had been vast differences in the allocation of such funds.

The University Grants Commission is spending a lot of money for litigation. Litigation has arisen from arbitrary actions of the UGC.

There was a conference of Vice-Chancellors. In the past these conferences were held in a room of the UGC building. But today this conference is being held in expensive tourist hotel. Such a conference took place at Kandalama recently. They spend lavishly out of university funds for these conferences.

Nanda Gunasinghe (PA-Galle district) said: I must thank the Minister of Education, his Deputy and the NEC for educational reforms they are bringing in.

The reforms will change a system which produced men and women who know nothing beyond the texts of their books and theories, who are unable to fit themselves to challenges of a changing world.

Continued tomorrow