The Education Ministry stated that it plans to launch a pilot project for Grade Six education reforms during the course of this year (2026).

Speaking to The Daily Morning on the education reform programme planned for this year, Ministry Secretary Nalaka Kaluwewa said the Ministry is considering introducing the pilot phase as part of efforts to address shortcomings that emerged during the initial rollout. "We have not decided on a timeframe yet. However, we are intending to launch a pilot project this year."

The Ministry had earlier decided to open the concept paper on education reforms for public discussion in the coming days. Kaluwewa said last week that public input would be considered during the process of making necessary changes to education reforms.

The education reform process has faced a series of setbacks in recent months. These include problems linked to the Grade Six modules, allegations that key stakeholders such as teachers and principals were not adequately consulted, and criticism over how decisions were taken within the reform framework. The situation escalated after an inappropriate web link was found in the Grade Six English module, which led to the Government halting the implementation of Grade Six education reforms until next year.

Several parties including teachers' and principals' trade unions have stated that many of the problematic situations could have been avoided if a pilot project had been introduced, as was done with education reforms in the past.