By Maheesha Mudugamuwa Controversy surrounds the decision taken by the Education Ministry to grant the project of providing insurance schemes to students of government schools to a private company. Questions were raised over the past few months by different interested parties on the integrity of the scheme and the fund. However, a more recent concern pertained to the awarding of the insurance scheme project to a private company. This scheme was previously awarded to Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation (SLIC), the government-owned insurer. The agreement between the private insurance company and the Government was scheduled to be signed on 12 February, but in a sudden twist, the Presidential Secretariat decided to postpone the signing. According to the Education Ministry, the agreement between the SLIC and the Ministry of Education expired on 1 December, 2018 and the Ministry had to sign a new agreement for 2019. The insurance agreement for the year 2017/2018 was valid from 1 October, 2017 to 30 September, 2018. However, SLIC had later agreed to extend it till 30 November, 2018. Explaining the decision taken by the Ministry to award the agreement to a private insurance company, the Education Ministry stated that the decision was taken by following the Government-approved procurement process. Accordingly, the private company had made a bid of Rs. 1.63 billion for the insurance scheme while the SLIC presented Rs. 2.7 billion. The lowest financial bidder was the private insurance company, and as such, the Ministry awarded the tender to that company, the Ministry stated. In addition, there were also additional facilities the private insurance company agreed to provide the students covered by the scheme, the Ministry said. It was further explained that the Minister of Education Akila Viraj Kariyawasam had taken the decision to amend the process of awarding the insurance tender by considering the allegations levelled that Suraksha had been re-insured by the SLIC with an Indian company, and as a result the Government had to incur a loss of round Rs. 2 billion. Tug-o-war The health insurance scheme “Suraksha”, covering all school children in the country, was introduced by Kariyawasam under the theme “Let’s Protect Our Children Perpetually”. Its initial insurer was SLIC. Nearly 4.5 million students between the ages of 5 and 19 studying in government schools, assisted private schools, non-assisted private schools, international schools, and also the student monks in pirivenas have instantly become beneficiaries of this scheme. All of them were compulsorily registered under this scheme and their data files are being prepared at the moment. However, a senior officer of SLIC told The Sunday Morning that the difference between the financial tender of the SLIC and the private company was only Rs. 200 million and that it was unfair to base the decision of awarding the insurance scheme project solely on financial aspects. Ceylon Teachers Services Union (CTSU) General Secretary Mahinda Jayasinghe told The Sunday Morning that there were many issues with the insurance scheme, but that the main question was why the Ministry decided to award it to a private company, disregarding SLIC. “Even if the financial bid by the SLIC was higher than the private company, ideally, the Ministry should have spoken with the officials and negotiated an agreement before awarding the tender to a private company,” he added. However, he added that the Presidential Secretariat had suspended the signing at present. Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) General Secretary Joseph Stalin stated that if it was the Ministry that maintained the fund, then it should have the capacity to pay the claims as well, and that there was no need of a third party. If the Government builds more hospitals, there won’t be a need for an insurer, he added. “The students were yet to receive their insurance claims for November, December, January, and February,” he said. The tug-o-war between the President and the Ministry has resulted in delays in awarding the insurance tender and the insurance claims of the students, Stalin said. Meanwhile, responding to the allegations made by trade unions that the Ministry had halted the Suraksha insurance scheme, Education Ministry Director of Education School Health and Nutrition Branch Renuka Peiris stressed that the Ministry had not taken such steps, and that it had settled the claims made by students. “There is no issue with Suraksha. We are receiving claims from the students at present as well,” she added. The Ministry also confirmed that it was the signing of the agreement that was postponed by the Presidential Secretariat, and that the scheme was still valid and was not halted. All attempts to contact Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam and the Secretary to the President Udaya Seneviratne were unsuccessful.