Professor Dr. Nishan C. Wijesinha (Sarasota)

I can recall back to when Mr. Wickremesinghe was made the Minister of Education on 14 February 1980; where Mr. Wickremesinghe promised educational reforms. We were then studying for our A/L’s at STC Mount; and all of us with the O/L batch sent a communique requesting that O/L curriculum be made to 6 subjects, allowing students to take part in extra-curricular activities, and the A/L to 3 subjects.

In our communique we requested that O/L substitute subjects for the following be offered for students, as everyone is not of equal IQ to adapt to a rigid syllabus. Those were, Math to General Accounting, and General Science to Sports Science Techniques and Pre and Post-Harvest Techniques.

As usual the secretary concerned pushed-forward a proposal which was spiteful to ours, and pushed forward an agenda made to offer schools extended closing and opening hours, with a multi grain biscuit for lunch or at interval time. This eventually brought-in much criticism from parents as it led to restrictions of a real meal to the children at lunch time, as well as on the other hand it was illogical, and also crashing with inter-school events such as rugger and hockey.

Now that Mr. Wickremesinghe is the incumbent President of the Republic, I request for the Educational Reforms to be made as aforementioned.