By Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama   

The pilot programme of launching the Mindfulness Programme in schools by the Education Ministry commenced last morning at Ananda College, Colombo.  The programme was launched by Education Minister, Susil Premajayantha.   Addressing the event, he said the programme would be held on Wednesdays.  “The Ministry hopes to increase the number of days students practice the programme beginning on March 27, 2023, the first day of the school year. 

Accordingly, the Ministry is hoping to continue with the programme weekly on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for thirty minutes while consuming one minute from a single school period,” he said.   

This programme’s goal is not to end after two or three weeks. This should be developed in a meaningful manner. The mindset of the 4.2 million schoolchildren and the 22.5 million people will be peaceful.  After implementing the programme, the message will reach every house and every adult in the country.   

“This will help to wake up the people from where they are and will help them to move their economy forward. “Every religious leader representing the Ministry’s religious department will be assigned to supervise the programme. A television discussion was scheduled to be held,” he said.   

He stated that while the programme is being implemented, schoolchildren would be trained to focus their minds on a single goal.   

Mindfulness is a practice that supports educators with skills to improve focus and better manage stress, and it also offers self-care strategies, so educators feel more nourished and energized to support students in the classroom.   

According to the Minister, the decision was made to implement the Mindfulness programme in schools to reduce the stress on children’s minds as a result of their involvement in illegal activities such as drug addiction and violence.