Rs. 2,700 m allocated for free textbooks

Irangika Range

The Government has taken measures to provide 25 million free school textbooks spending Rs.2700 million in 2009.

“Accordingly, Rs.2020 million out of Rs.2700 million will be spent for the publication of textbooks,” Education Minister Susil Premajayantha told the Daily News.

The Minister has instructed Education Publications Commissioner General Jayantha Pushpakumara to streamline the distribution process of school textbooks following a proper mechanism next year.

The Official inauguration ceremony for the distribution of textbooks under the first phase is due to be conducted at the Education Ministry premises on August 27. Under the first step, 354 types of textbooks will be distributed at 1,032 centers across the country. These Centers in turn will distribute textbooks to 364 of Divisional Education Offices for distribution to schools islandwide.

Text books will be directly distributed to 120 national schools with a student population of over 2,000 and to 22 private schools. Textbooks will also be distributed to 20 Pirivenas islandwide.

In order to streamline the school textbook distribution, the Minister has taken steps to give the authority to Chief Ministers in each province to avoid any irregularities.

Accordingly, Minister Premajayantha has transfered the authority to the Chief Minister of the Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council to handle the textbook distribution process as a first step of the distribution system.

Under this scheme the Sabaragamuwa Provincial Education Ministry will be responsible of handling textbook distribution to be provided directly to 374,236 students of 1,114 schools in the Sabaragamuwa Province by using funds provided by the Education Ministry.

The Minister ensured that the textbook publication process is expected to be completed by December 11, when the school third term ends.