Minister of Education Dr. Susil Premajayantha participated in the inauguration of the regulatory program ‘Sati-Pasala’ which at Ananda College, Colombo recently. The program was organised by the Sati Pasala Foundation in collaboration with the Ministry of Education.
The Minister said that the Sati Pasala program which introduces mindfulness to children could be regarded as a reminder of the objectives of Education, some of which are creating law-abiding citizens capable of overcoming social challenges through logical thinking and developing creative and inventive abilities of children by inculcating soft skills in their minds in such a way that they may not deviate from moral rectitude, sensitivity, sympathy and empathy.
Minister Premajayantha said at this crucial period of time when the whole society comprising parents, teachers and children is faced with a vexatious situation in consequence of schoolchildren losing 50 percent of their co-curricular activities and extracurricular activities in the face of numerous disasters in the recent years gone by, every possible strenuous effort is being made in the midst of untold difficulties in order to remedy this problematic situation.
Most of the countries have overtaken us and entered a transformational era of education whereas Sri Lanka is still lagging behind many other nations in keeping pace with the ever-changing world of education. Although children are equipped with knowledge, the constant questions raised by the society pertaining to their skills and attitudes must be solved and year 2023 is going to be very crucial in trying to achieve these objectives, Dr. Premajayantha said.
In a situation where technology must be taken full advantage of to overcome pressing challenges and problems confronting the country, working very sensibly and out of mindfulness is not confined to only one religious community but is equally important to all human beings. The program to enhance mindfulness, the good benefits of which can even be analysed scientifically, must be carried out on a regular basis without limiting it to one or two weeks, he said.
The Minister said with the commencement of the first term of the year starting from the March 27, a regulatory project of twelve weeks covering all 10,155 schools in the country is intended to be held on Wednesdays of every week and after the completion of the first phase of the project, based on the results thereof, the number of days when this program is conducted would be increased and held on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Only one minute from each period of the week will be taken to conduct this Sati Pasala program every week. Then, the message of mindfulness can be conveyed to adults too through school children.
The Maha Sangha, religious dignitaries, Secretary to the Ministry of Education M.N. Ranasinghe, schoolchildren and their parents also attended the inaugural ceremony of the Sati Pasala program.