Politics

Today, on the 30th, Gangodawila Magistrate Ruwanthika Marasinghe directed the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to collect statements from teachers who were trained with the controversial educational module. The magistrate wants the CID to complete their investigation quickly. The CID is looking into a website that is deemed inappropriate for children, which was included in the Grade 6 English curriculum under the new education reforms. This case was brought to the Gangodawila Magistrate’s Court by the CID, and the officers gave the court an update on their investigation as directed earlier. Maithri Gunaratne, a President’s Counsel representing an intervening party, claimed that the CID is moving too slowly in their inquiry. He argued that the accountability lies not just with two officials, but also with the Minister of Education and the Ministry's Secretary, suggesting that only suspending two officials does not address the seriousness of the issue. He highlighted inconsistencies in the CID's report, noting that while the problem website appears on pages 51 and 52 of the module, the report mentioned pages 47 and 48. The investigating officers told the court that the website is indeed on pages 47 and 48 of the module they presented, and they stated that the version referred to in the CID report was printed on December 23, 2025. However, Maithri pointed out that the officers had shown a different module in court, which was not the one used for training teachers. As a result, the magistrate ordered both versions of the module to be submitted as exhibits in court.