Sri Lanka to delay education reforms amid opposition protests

colombo: the sri lankan government led by president anura kumara dissanayake on tuesday decided to delay the implementation of its proposed education reforms following sustained opposition protests.cabinet spokesman and minister nalinda jayathissa said the cabinet had decided to hold back implementation of the reforms until 2027. however, he said reforms planned for year 1 would be implemented this year.the decision follows controversy over a year 6 english module under the proposed reforms, after the ministry of education lodged a police complaint over a purported link to a gay dating website contained in the material. the website was later blocked by the government.prime minister harini amarasuriya, who also holds the education portfolio, has faced sit-in protests led by opposition politicians demanding her resignation. both president dissanayake and amarasuriya had earlier insisted that the reforms would be implemented despite opposition.the government has alleged that a “sinister campaign” was being waged against amarasuriya, terming it harassment of a woman politician.explaining the delay, jayathissa said the government did not wish to proceed with the reforms while any doubts remained. he said the proposed changes aim to transform primary education by introducing continuous assessment, practical learning and critical thinking, replacing the existing term-test-based system.education trade unions and opposition parties, while not opposing reforms in principle, have argued that the proposals were formulated without adequate consultation. they claimed key stakeholders were not consulted and warned that measures such as extending school hours could adversely affect teachers and students.principals' and teachers' unions had also threatened protests over the issue, officials said.