The Education Ministry aims to reduce the number of students in a classroom to between 25 and 30, as delivering quality education is not possible in overcrowded classrooms of 50 or 60 students, Prime Minister and Education Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya said today.
She made these remarks while speaking at an awareness program held at the Dakshinapaya Auditorium in Galle, organized for education authorities in the Southern Province to discuss the ongoing education reforms.
Dr. Amarasuriya pointed out that the new reforms go beyond curriculum updates and also focus on improving teacher professionalism, restructuring the education administration, and enhancing infrastructure to ensure equitable access to quality education for all children.
“This is not something we are doing for personal gain; it is a national responsibility. These reforms were planned even before we came into power, based on extensive consultations with experts and stakeholders,” she said.
She acknowledged that the reform process is challenging and has drawn both constructive engagement and baseless criticism — some of which, she noted, is politically motivated. “However, we cannot ignore these challenges. The people gave us a mandate to fix the issues in the education system,” she added.
Highlighting gaps in teacher development, the Minister pointed out that teacher training college curricula have remained unchanged for 16 years. To address this, the government will begin training teacher trainers starting in August, with the goal of ensuring better-quality teacher education across the country.
The program marks another step in the government’s broader efforts to transform the education sector in line with national development goals.
