Signals additional funding for education, health and social security

By Sanath Nanayakkare

The government will continue to fund health, education, social welfare and housing, and we are looking to dedicate government funding to these sectors while the government will have to distance itself from funding loss-making state owned enterprises (SOEs), President Ranil Wickremesinghe said on May 12.He made this remark at the opening ceremony of ‘Skills Expo 2023’ held at the BMICH, Colombo.

“When I looked back at the investments of our country made in the past 10 years, I noticed that we had invested a lot of money in state corporations and boards and not enough on education. Had we channeled the money used for funding Sri Lankan Airlines, Electricity Board, and Petroleum Corporation towards education, we would have been in a position to compete with the countries that have the best education systems in Asia. Unfortunately, we did not do that, and now we have to pay the debts accumulated by funding the loss-making entities. We must grow the economy and pay off these debts while taking steps to build a knowledge-based economy within the next 10 years. I want to continue to fund education, health, social security and housing with additional resources instead of funding government entities,” he said.

Further speaking he said, “We must empower our youth with knowledge. Then only their future will be secure and sustainable. We need to train the youth and equip them to join the construction industry. There are many other sectors where youth skills and participation are lacking. In most industrial cases, that knowledge lies outside of the government. So we have to collaborate with institutions that can provide that training. If foreign institutions have that knowledge, then their contribution needs to be incorporated. That is why we have begun the modernization of education. Even until recently we didn’t know what was evolving in education and technology. This means we have to create an education system foreseeing the evolving trends. We need to empower our youth with the knowledge the future demands. That’s how we can help them to progress in their own lives and equip them to take the country into the future.”

This year, I consolidated the Ministry of Education under one minister to ensure appropriate implementation of this task. He must monitor the entire system and make appropriate mechanisms. I have formed a special cabinet committee to oversee education. We will start modernization of education from this point onwards because we are entering a new world and our youth must be a part of it,” the President said.