Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2018-05-15

Providing sponsorship to 13 Government approved unaided private schools

- Due to urbanization and the increase in population there is a tremendous competition for admission of children to national and provincial schools in Sri Lanka and the need to resolve this social problem with Government mediation through expanding the educational opportunities, has been identified. It would enable to ensure a high quality standard of education by facilitating those Government approved private schools where the national syllabus is implemented under the supervision of the Ministry of Education, thereby providing a reliable alternative solution for the national issue for the parents when admitting a child to a school.

Presently, there are 80 Government approved private schools registered under the Ministry of Education and the Government provides all such schools with benefits such as school uniforms and text books free of charge. Out of which the Government provides aid to 36 schools for the payment of teacher salaries. As such, the proposal made by Hon. Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, the Minister of Education, to expand this sponsorship further and grant aid for 13 selected private schools which do not receive Government aid with ability to provide the children with qualitative and competitive education to be treated as Government sponsored schools based on the criteria of the Ministry of Education, was approved y the Cabinet.