Former Deputy Leader of the United National Party and MP Ravi Karunanayake says education is the foundation on which a country can be built, citing examples from around the world.
Speaking in Parliament, Karunanayake said that around 530,000 students sit for the Ordinary Level examination each year, and nearly 70 percent of them qualify for the Advanced Level.
He added that about 170,000 students complete the Advanced Level, but only around 55,000 gain admission to state universities. According to the MP, the remaining 115,000 students are effectively denied equal opportunities, which he described as a violation of their human rights.
Karunanayake also referred to the Universities Act introduced during the J.R. Jayewardene administration, noting that while the Act has undergone modernization and amendments over the years — a positive step — several key issues still need to be reconsidered.
He stressed that the objective of strengthening higher education reforms should be to produce an intelligent and capable youth generation that can contribute meaningfully to the country’s development.
