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Wijeyadasa informs CJ of ‘English only’ Law exams

04 Oct 2022

BY Mirudhula Thambiah Minister of Justice, Prisons Affairs, and Constitutional Reforms Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe (PC) yesterday (3) noted in Parliament that he had communicated the language barrier-related issues faced by Sri Lanka Law College students while sitting for internal examinations to Chief Justice (CJ) Jayantha Jayasuriya (PC), who presides over the Council of Legal Education.  Dr. Rajapakshe noted this in a response to questions posed by Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Opposition MP Buddhika Pathirana regarding Law College internal examinations being conducted only in the English language, with the latter noting that such would deprive the rights of rural students in enjoying equal opportunities. SJB MP Hesha Vithanage urged in Parliament yesterday (3) that Law College examinations be conducted in Sinhala and Tamil languages as well, as conducting the examinations only in English would prove unfair to rural students. MP Vasudeva Nanayakkara, while commenting in the same context, said that conducting examinations only in the English language would be in violation of the Constitution, when only Sinhala and Tamil languages are considered the official languages, while English is only a link language.  “Students should be allowed to face any examination in either of the two official languages,” he said. Dr. Rajapakshe assured Parliament that he would convey these concerns to the Council of Legal Education and take steps to address the issue.  He also noted that while a gazette was adopted in 2013, stating that all three years of examinations at the Law College are to be conducted only in the English language, when he took over as Minister of Justice in 2015, he had amended the gazette permitting to the conduct of exams in all three languages. “We also noted that special English language classes were introduced at the Law College for the students to train themselves, as such could be an advantage when they become professionals,” he said.


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