Politics

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya announced that the Academic Advisory Board of the National Institute of Education (NIE) has decided that future educational modules for the second and third terms will not include any web links. Speaking in Parliament today (09), she explained that the online sources currently mentioned in the modules are free to access and do not require any payment. She assured that using government websites does not pose any issues regarding transparency, accountability, or procurement processes. The Prime Minister also mentioned that the Task Force for Digital Transformation in Education has looked into child protection issues related to digital use and has created a policy along with guidelines. She noted that these policies and guidelines will soon be presented to the Academic Advisory Board of the NIE. Furthermore, she highlighted that the institution will not gain any financial profit from the ongoing educational reforms. Almost 92% of primary teachers have already completed the necessary training. However, she acknowledged that the recent disaster situation across Sri Lanka has hindered the planned training programs in some provinces. Therefore, she stated that efforts will be made to train those teachers before the new school term for Grades 01 and 06 begins. Finally, she clarified that using the internet is not required for these educational activities, and teachers can choose to use it only as a supplementary learning tool.