Int’l schools to be regulated

The Government is expected to reintroduce a mechanism to register and regulate international schools in the country. As per a Cabinet proposal, submitted by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, the Government has approved the re-registration of international schools under the Companies Act. The process, as announced yesterday (10), will be carried out by the Ministry of Education, until a formal legal framework is developed. Furthermore, the Cabinet has approved the proposal to establish a Cabinet subcommittee that would review the legal provisions with respect to the registration, accreditation, and regulation, certification of quality and administration of international schools. The subcommittee will also review teacher training activities and maintaining particular subjects such as Sinhala and Tamil languages, religion and history within the school curriculum. The proposal has been submitted following the observation of various international schools which have been established around the country without proper registration and regulation, leading to informal methods of education and poor education standards.