Bill to give powers to maintain quality in all Educational institutions
View(s):The Ministry of Education (MoE) will soon introduce a Bill in Parliament, which gives powers to maintain quality in Government and Private schools and Madrasas.
The Bill, initially, will give powers to appoint a Quality Recommendation Board (QRB), which will present annual recommendations to the MoE on requirement of regulations, policy changes, new legislation and other decisions to be taken up by the Cabinet, said Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam.
The QRB headed by a Chairman, will consist of 5 members, who will have to be approved by the Cabinet, and will be empowered to make recommendations to the MoE Secretary as well.
The School Inspectorate system will be used to ensure the recommendations made are properly implemented.
A Commissioner General will be overall in charge of monitoring the implementation of the recommendations.
The Bill, once passed in Parliament as an Act, will require all private education institutes to register with the Government, in contrast to the current system, where they operate as private companies.
The lack of a monitoring system of private educational institutions has resulted in complaints flowing into the MoE, such as overcharging of fees, lack of trained teachers, lack of a conducive environment for educational activities,among other deficiencies.
- Damith Wickremasekara