Grade One admissions circular before Sunday

Nadira Gunatilleke and Manjula Fernando

COLOMBO: A circular will be issued before August 19 in connection with Grade One school admissions. A Cabinet decision will be taken within this year in connection with Grade One school admissions considering the judgment and all the other factors, Media Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena said.

Addressing the weekly press briefing at the Government Information Department Auditorium yesterday, Abeywardena said Grade One school admissions gained a lot of attention last week and the UNP tried to sling mud at the Government using this issue.

“President Mahinda Rajapaksa is not a Royalist and he has no connection with this issue which is a court order issued pointing out certain guidelines,” the Minister said.

The Government has not issued any circular in this regard so far and while the Government was trying to find a practical solution for the problem, the Opposition started to use schoolchildren to sling mud at the Government. But in Parliament all parties expressed understanding on this issue.

The Opposition could not bring the people on to the streets because the people had a very good understanding on the issue. But all people stepped into streets when the `White Paper’ was brought in by then Education Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, he added.

Highways Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle said it was Wickremesinghe who set up private medical colleges and allowed students who did A/Ls in the Home Science stream to enter Medical College.

The UNP tried its best to poison the Government and the Supreme Court against each other, but the Government did not get caught to that trap, he said.

For the UNP and its leader, the Supreme Court was UNP, when it gave some judgements against the Government and the Supreme Court was SLFP when it gave some judgement in favour of the Government.

Now the UNP is criticising the Government for a judgement given by the Supreme Court. This is absurd. The Opposition Leader has lost his mind, he added.