The Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) questioned the Government’s silence on key issues highlighted by teachers’ groups and other stakeholders regarding the proposed education sector reforms, urging the authorities to respond to and immediately address the concerns raised.

CTU General Secretary Joseph Stalin made this statement during a media briefing held yesterday (26). He said: “When trade unions repeatedly pointed out the flaws and potential issues in its implementation, instead of responding, the Government pretended to listen to these concerns and is now trying to implement the same presentation that was shown to the nine provinces earlier.”

Alleging that the proposed reforms are creating several problems, Stalin noted that although the Education Ministry has stated that payments should be made for seminars and workshops conducted for grade six students under the new syllabus, no such payments have been made. He added that this demonstrates a serious lack of coordination in the reform process.

Earlier, a number of groups expressed concerns about a lack of stakeholder consultation concerning the proposed education sector reforms.