Universal primary education:

Govt on track to reach target

We are on track reaching the target of universal primary education well ahead of the Millennium Development Goals for primary education with our steadfast commitment to the policy of free education. We are already on par with the Millennium Development Goals on primary education, gender parity and reproductive health services, said Disaster Management and Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe.

Addressing the United Nations third committee on Promotion Protection of the Rights of Children on Friday, he said, a large segment of Sri Lanka's population, 36 percent, was children under 18 years and we consider free education in our country and investment with consistent policy of universal access to education for children.

"We have been able to achieve 93 percent literacy comparable with the developed nations," the Minister said. "There has also been a sustained reduction in child and maternal mortality rates in Sri Lanka," the Minister said.