A momentous opportunity that should not fall victim to cheap politics

The government's proposed education reforms, in their snippets that are still available for public knowledge, appear to be transformative.

- By Ranga Jayasuriya

The optimist in me makes me think that, if implemented, they could well be the greatest contribution to free education in this country in decades, if not for over half a century. Ideas are impressive; however, a detailed blueprint is lacking—perhaps it is in the making, or the government has not chosen to make it public. Since the education of children in this country is not the type of stuff that is discussed in the National Security Council, the government has an obligation to come up with a detailed plan, with more stakeholder participation. Yet, none of that should be a reason to undercut the process or to play petty political gamesmanship, which some opposition parties seemed to be indulging in, which is also sadly the signature behaviour of the many members in this government and their elders, way back to the Education White Paper in the early 1980s.

However, one should give it to the government and the Prime Minister in her capacity as the Minister of Education for placing the education of our children among their topmost priorities. That is something its successors callously neglected. As a result, we are a decade behind even the most generous account. That also makes education reforms all the more urgent and a national endeavour. Probably the missing link of our less-than-inspiring economic growth is the failure in comprehensive education reforms, alongside the stifling red tapes that make the country even less appealing for investment. The government now has a historical opportunity to break this stranglehold.

The President, who delivered a lengthy speech in Parliament, probably underscoring the government's importance on education reforms, said education reforms are not mere revision of curriculum, but ‘a fresh transformation of our entire society, our economic body and our country’.