Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena and Higher Education Minister S. B. Dissanayake would have been unheard of if there had been no free education in the country, said the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) yesterday.

JVP MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake said at media briefing that Mr. S. B. Dissanayake would have been a farmer if not for free education.

He charged that it was such people as these who were selling degrees at Rs 150,000 each today and thereby scrapping the free education system.

Mr. Anura Kumara Dissanayake said 214 university students who had fought against the scrapping of free education had been suspended from the universities.

Coming up with more allegations, he said the government had allocated only 1.49 percent of GDP for education in 2013. He said this was less than the proportion allocated for the previous year, which was 1.86 percent.

Throwing a challenge to Minister Dissanayake, the JVP MP invited him to an open debate at Viharamahadevi Park or at the premises of any university. (Yohan Perera and Lahiru Pothmulla)