The Cabinet of Ministers has given approval to implement a project initiated by the Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena to develop 1,000 secondary schools and 5,000 primary schools to provide better educational facilities to students across the island.

The government has given approval to implement the program as decided upon by the Ministries of Finance and Planning, Economic Development, and Education, utilizing 2.5 billion rupees that had been allocated in the 2012 budget for the program.

The government is instructed to provide electricity, water, and sanitation facilities and to carry out renovation work, identified on a priority basis, in the selected schools, through School Development Societies.

Under the program, the government will set up science, computer, language, and mathematics laboratories in identified secondary schools and recruit enough teachers for subjects such as The Cabinet has granted approval to assign the construction works to suitable contractors in the respective areas selected on the recommendations of the respective District Secretaries and for the Central Engineering Consultancy Bureau (CECB) to provide the necessary consultancy services for these construction works.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Economic Development has undertaken the task of re-constructing the 5,000 primary schools.

Under the first phase of the project, more than 1,600 schools will be re-designed and the program will commence on August 03 from the Mulkirigala Maha Vidyalaya in Weeraketiya.