Kalutara District Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) parliamentarian Ajith P. Perera has tabled a motion in Parliament calling for English-medium instruction across all of Sri Lanka’s secondary schools, with the Government to allocate the financial and institutional resources needed to roll it out nationally, The Island reported.
The motion, now published in the Addendum to the Order Book of Parliament, proposes that Parliament resolve to implement English-medium teaching throughout the secondary school system and that the Government give priority to the investments required to make the change workable.
Perera grounds the proposal in Article 18(3) of the Constitution, which recognises English as Sri Lanka’s “Link Language”, and argues that proficiency in English is essential for fostering national integration, improving access to knowledge, and equipping young Sri Lankans for an increasingly globalised labour market.
“English, as an international language, serves as a vital medium through which citizens can acquire knowledge and skills in an increasingly globalised world,” the motion states, adding that mastery of English would help Sri Lankans from different linguistic and ethnic backgrounds communicate more effectively and “live together as one nation.”
The motion holds up the Central College system — established under the country’s free education policy — as evidence that English-medium teaching can be delivered at scale within the state school network without breaching the free-education principle. Perera also points to similar English-medium streams already running in a number of other government schools.
The SJB legislator argues that expanding English-medium secondary education would directly improve the employability of Sri Lankan youth, both domestically and overseas, and is asking Parliament to declare the policy a national priority.
The motion does not propose a timeline, costing or phased rollout plan; it instead calls on the Government to commit the necessary financial and institutional support and to make English-medium secondary instruction a stated national objective. It comes against the backdrop of the National People’s Power government’s broader education-reform agenda, including the Grade 1 reforms introduced earlier this year and the expansion of tertiary-level hostel capacity announced in early June.
Source: The Island.
