The programme of setting up of 1,000 National Schools will be commenced on April 26, Education Reforms and Open Universities and Distance Learning Promotion State Minister Susil Premajayantha yesterday said.
He added that the priority will be given to 123 divisional secretariats in which a single National school is not in. He said that another 3,000 secondary schools to be set up by 2023 and they would be focal schools in a cluster of other primary schools. All these 3,000 schools will be equipped with Intermet in collaboration with the SLT (Telecom) and the Mobitel.
He was respnding to Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Parliamentarian Buddhika Pathirana during the Round of Questions for Oral Answers.
State Minister Premajayantha said that as a means to reduce the weight of the satchel of the students, the Government will introduce each text book with three volumes enabling the use one at a term. He added that by now, the issue of education is not with the content but with the skill development in the students. He added that the measures will be taken to improve the skill of the students and therefore, the same decision will drop the weight of the school textbooks.
The Minister said that the UN and UNESCO objectives of elimination of poverty and quality education have been challenged with the COVID 19 pandemic, yet SRi Lanka is taking measures to address these issues using technology.
He added, however, a tab computer would not solve the matter with the primary students and therefore, the Government has initiated a 16 hour television programs. He said that the training courses for teacher training to equip them with modern technology has already commenced.