Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe recently stressed the importance of having a public school system which is not based on religion or race. He said this kind of public school system had been initiated by the first Prime Minister of the country, Rt. Hon. D.S. Senanayake.
Prime Minister Wickremesinghe added that this system prevails in Singapore and a team of Education Ministry officials will be sent to Singapore to study their public school system with the objective of devising a new school system. “The school system should not change on the lines of language or religion. We have entrusted the Education Minister with the responsibility of creating a public school system in the country again,” he said.
The Prime Minister added that the country’s first Prime Minister inculcated a sense of Sri Lankan identity among the children of various communities through the public school system.
He said the Central College concept promotes the Sri Lankan identity among students. “In the 1970s, this system was changed. The students were divided on the lines of religion and nationality. This division resulted in the July 1983 disturbances and the creation of the LTTE terrorist organisation,” he said.