Hon. Thurairasa Ravikaran

Hon. Thurairasa Ravikaran raised concern that despite over 1,650 Carnatic Music graduates being available to meet district-level needs, the Special Gazette fails to make provision for recruitment in the Northern and Eastern provinces. He urged the Prime Minister to take swift corrective action to address what he described as unequal resource allocation disadvantaging the Vanni region.

Hon. Ravikaran opposed the Bill abolishing parliamentary pensions, arguing it would discourage civil servants from entering politics and effectively restrict parliamentary candidacy to the wealthy or well-funded party candidates. He proposed either establishing a contributory pension scheme funded from MPs' salaries, or allowing former civil servants who complete a parliamentary term to rejoin their previous posts. He also raised two constituency concerns regarding the Vanni region: first, that Development Officers recruited since the 1990s lack a rational transfer policy, resulting in staff serving 5–10 years at the same station and inequitable distribution across districts, and called on the Ministry of Public Administration to address this. Second, he highlighted that the Special Gazette of 2 February 2026 calling for graduate teacher recruitment omitted Hindu Civilization and Carnatic Music subjects for the Northern Province, despite documented shortfalls — including approximately 46 Carnatic Music teachers across six Vanni education zones — and urged urgent intervention to ensure the 2026 intake addresses these subject and regional gaps.

The speech is too brief to extract substantive content. Hon. Thurairasa Ravikaran made only a procedural statement indicating he was posing a question to the House, with no further detail provided in the text.

Hon. Ravikaran raised two concerns regarding educational infrastructure in the Vanni District. First, he drew attention to the deteriorating and potentially dangerous building at Mulliyawalai Kalaimagal Vidyalayam in Mullaitivu, where students are currently learning in makeshift spaces, and requested urgent attention to the matter. Second, citing the Ministry's own report "Transforming Sri Lanka's General Education" and its commitment to equitable STEM education, he highlighted that activity-based learning in Vanni District schools is severely hampered by resource shortages, inadequate space, and substandard laboratory facilities. He asked whether sufficient computers would be provided in 2026 to enable IT practical education, including group-based activities, in schools across the district.

Hon. Ravikaran raised concerns about incomplete school constructions under the "Nearest School – Best School" programme, referencing a National Audit Office finding and a Sunday Times report from August 2025, as well as a personal site visit to a school in the Mullaitivu Education Zone in July 2025. He noted that no preventive safety measures have been taken to restrict access to hazardous incomplete structures, posing risks to students and staff. He directed two specific questions to the Prime Minister: what budgetary allocations have been made in the current year to complete these unfinished buildings, and whether a priority order is being followed in addressing them. He also called for immediate cordoning and safety measures at such sites pending completion.