Teaching students from Grades 1-5 in English should stop: Ven. Ratana Thera

National List MP Venerable Athuraliye Ratana Thera yesterday urged the government to stop teaching school children from grades one to five in the English medium.

Speaking during the committee stage debate on the budget in parliament, the Venerable Thera said Sri Lanka is currently following a concept which is not followed in any other country of providing primary education in another language other than the child’s mother tongue.

“If a child is given a primary education in a language other than their mother tongue, that child would not be a citizen of that country,” the Venerable Thera said. The Thera said it is important to regulate international schools, as well as such schools, can be run by anyone without any standards being adhered to. Therefore, the Thera said it is important to regulate them.

Making another suggestion, he said education should be a component which builds national unity. Accordingly, he said children in the North and the East should be provided education in Tamil, while children in other areas should be allowed to have their education in Sinhala.

Additionally, the majority of Tamils and Muslims who reside in areas other than the North and the East can be provided an education in Sinhala as a majority of them are fluent in the Sinhala language.(Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana)