The 78th National Independence Day is marked with renewed hope for freedom. We have now entered a new chapter with a people’s government formed through the collective will and effort of all citizens.

The Government has begun the task of building a nation for future generations, grounded in human values, strengthened by skills, and enriched by intellectual capacity. The time has come for every citizen to fulfil their responsibility to the motherland by contributing meaningfully to the building of a nation rooted in shared values.

We remain committed to achieving national priorities, including stabilizing the country on a strong economic foundation; advancing a new political vision that transforms political practice and redefines the role of the politician through a renewed political culture; guiding society with equality, dignity, and compassion; and addressing persistent rural poverty.

The Government is also focused on strengthening welfare mechanisms to ensure access for vulnerable social groups so that no one is left behind; advancing the digital transformation of the economy through modern science and technology; and presenting Sri Lanka to the international community as a nation guided by a non-aligned foreign policy, enabling engagement based on trust with all countries and peoples.

This is a time for all of us to work together, setting aside narrow political interests in the pursuit of national progress. As we mark the 78th National Independence Day, I invite all Sri Lankans to stand united with renewed confidence and determination, and to join in the shared task of shaping a new era of national renewal.

Dr. Harini Amarasuriya
Prime Minister
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
04th of February 2026

ප්‍රශ්න ගත මොඩියුලය සම්බන්ධයෙන් තීරණයක් ගෙන අවසන්, මොඩියුල මුද්‍රණය නිසා රජයට කිසිදු පාඩුවක් සිදුවී නැහැ.

6 ශ්‍රේණිය දරුවන්ට අසාධාරණයක් නොවෙන්න රජය වග බලා ගන්නා බවත්, ප්‍රශ්න ගත මොඩියුලය සම්බන්ධයෙන් තීරණයක් ගෙන අවසන් අතර මොඩියුල මුද්‍රණය නිසා රජයට කිසිදු පාඩුවක් සිදුවී නැති බවත් අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය ආචාර්ය හරිනි අමරසූරිය පැවසුවාය.

පෙළපොත් මුද්‍රණය සහ මොඩියුල සම්බන්ධයෙන් අද (03) පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේදී විපක්ෂය නැගූ ප්‍රශනයකට පිළිතුරු ලබා දෙමින් අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමිය මේ බව සඳහන් කළාය.

එහිදී වැඩි දුරටත් අදහස් දැක් වූ අධ්‍යාපන , උසස් අධ්‍යාපන සහ වෘත්තිය අධ්‍යාපන අමාත්‍ය අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය ආචාර්ය හරිනි අමරසූරිය,

2020 සිට 2022 දක්වා වසරවල පෙළ පොත් ඇණවුම් කිරීම සඳහා දත්ත පද්ධතියක් තිබුණේ නැහැ. පාසල්වලට ලබා දුන් ඇණවුම් ලේඛනයක් මගින් ඇණවුම් ලබා ගෙන තිබෙන්නේ. පාසල්වල සහ වෙනත් ආයතනවල ඉතිරිව තිබු පෙළ පොත් ගණනය කර ලේඛන ගත කර තිබුණේ නැහැ. ඒ නිසා ඉතිරි ප්‍රමාණය සහ එහි මුල්‍ය වටිනාකම් ගණනය කිරීමට නොහැකි වෙලා තිබෙනවා.

2023 සිට 2025 දක්වා පෙළ පොත් ඇණවුම් කිරීම දත්ත පද්ධතියක් මගින් සිදු කළා. ඒ නිසා එහි ගණනය කිරීම් සිදු කර තිබෙනවා. වර්ෂය ආරම්භයේදීම ඉදිරි වර්ෂය සඳහා අවශ්‍ය පෙළ පොත් දත්ත පද්ධතිය හරහා ලබා ගන්නවා. එම දත්ත පද්ධතියත්, ඉතිරි පොත් ප්‍රමාණයත් අනුව අළෙවිය සහ හදිසි ආපදාවකදී සිදුවන අවශ්‍යතා වෙනුවෙන් භාවිත කරන්න අවශ්‍ය පරිදි පෙළ පොත් මුද්‍රණය කරනවා.

පෙළපොත් බෙදා හැරීමට ගතවන කාලයත්, මුද්‍රණය කිරීමට ගතවන කාලයත් සළකා බලා ප්‍රසම්පාදන ක්‍රියාවලිය සිදු කරනවා. රාජ්‍ය අංශයත් පෞද්ගලික අංශයත් එක්ව අවශ්‍යතා සලකා බලමින් පෙළ පොත් මුද්‍රණය කිරීම සිදු කරන්නේ. ගබඩාවට පෙළ පොත් මුද්‍රණය කර ලැබෙන ආකාරය අනුව කඩිනමින් පෙළපොත් බෙදා හැරීම් සිදු කරනවා.

පෙළපොත් සහ මොඩියුල කියන්නේ දෙකක්, මේ වනවිට මුද්‍රණය කර ඇති පෙළපොත් බෙදාහැර තිබෙනවා. යෝජිත ප්‍රතිසංස්කරණ අනුව 6 ශ්‍රේණියේ පළමු වාරය සඳහා මොඩියුල මුද්‍රණය කළා, ඒ මොඩියුල් සියල්ලම අපි ඉවත් කර නැහැ. 2027 වසරේ දී 6 ශ්‍රේණිය සඳහා නව අධ්‍යාපන ප්‍රතිසංස්කරණය සිදු කරන්න යෝජිතයි. ඒ අනුව අදාල මොඩියුල භාවිත කරන්න සැලසුම් කර තිබෙනවා.

ප්‍රශ්නයක් ඇති වූ මොඩියුලය සම්බන්ධයෙන් ගතයුතු ක්‍රියාමාර්ග අපි තීරණය කර තිබෙන්නේ. නමුත් මොඩියුල ඉවත් කර නැහැ. රජයට පාඩුවක් වන ලෙස කිසිදු තීරණයක් අපි අරගෙන නැහැ. 6 ශ්‍රේණියේ දරුවන්ට අවශ්‍ය පෙළපොත් පෙබරවාරි මාසයේ අපි බෙදා හරිනවා.

6 ශ්‍රේණියේ දරුවන්ට කිසිදු ලෙසකින් අසාධාරණයක් නොවෙන්න වගබලා ගන්නා බවද අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය ආචාර්ය හරිනි අමරසූරිය පැවසුවාය.

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය අංශය

Members of the National Student Parliament met with Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya on the 02nd of February at Temple Trees.

The representatives of the National Student Parliament, representing schools from across the island, visited the Temple Trees following the visit to Presidential Secretariat and the Parliament.

The student parliamentarians stated that the new education reforms are a matter that directly affects them as students, and that innovative approach introduced through education reforms is important when moving forward in line with the new technological world. They further emphasized that they stand in support of the education reforms.

Expressing her views on the occasion, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated,

The new education reforms were recently initiated starting from Grade One. Discussions are currently underway to include students entering Grade Six this year into the new education reform process in the future. The education reforms will not be halted, and the government is committed to implementing them in a systematic manner without shortcomings. She further noted that the reforms are being carried out under five main pillars, with the government’s key objective being to reduce disparities and provide children with quality education, while also nurturing a socially responsible community enriched with human values such as compassion, love for the environment, and a strong sense of civic responsibility.

The occasion was attended by the Deputy Director of Education Mr. Kasun Gunarathne, along with officials from the Ministry of Education and representatives of the National Student Parliament.

Prime Minister’s Media Division

The Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya participated in the South Asia Regional Conference of the World Federation of Consuls (FICAC) 2026 held on 2nd of February at the Cinnamon Life, Colombo. The conference is hosted by the Association of Consuls in Sri Lanka and the World Federation of Consuls. The conference held from 1st to 4th of February, brings together diplomats, business leaders, and policymakers to strengthen regional cooperation and explore new avenues for sustainable development across South Asia.

Addressing the event, the Prime Minister noted that selection of Sri Lanka as the venue for this conference holds particular significance at a time when the Government is working closely with international partners to position Sri Lanka as a credible and reliable region.

The Prime Minister also drew attention to Sri Lanka’s vulnerability against climate change, citing the recent impact of Cyclone Ditwah, and commended the support extended to Sri Lanka by the international partners. The Prime Minister emphasized that climate change requires global cooperation, shared responsibility, and innovative solutions.

She further highlighted ongoing efforts to improve public sector efficiency, transparency, and accountability, promote national unity and respect for diversity, and advance digital governance to enhance service delivery and public trust.

The Prime Minister stated,

The Government of Sri Lanka is committed to addressing economic, social, and environmental challenges through a clear policy framework. Our focus is on economic stability through fiscal discipline, sustainable debt management, and reforms that enhance productivity and growth. At the same time, we are strengthening social welfare programs to support the most vulnerable.

Addressing at the event, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism MP Vijitha Herath also stated that, the government is committed to recognizing Sri Lanka as a sustainable tourism hotspot in the global platform while positioning Sri Lanka as a stable and reliable international partner.

The event was attended by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Employment Mr. Arun Hemachandra, FICAC President Nikolaos K. Margaropoulos, President of the Association of Consuls in Sri Lanka Mr.Mahen Kariyawasam and Diplomatic corps.

Prime minister’s media

We believe that a new transformative era can be built in which everyone participates in the economic process and benefits from it.

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated that the Government is confident in building an economy that delivers benefits to everyone, paving the way for a transformative era. The Prime Minister made these remarks while attending the MILCO National Dairy Farmers’ Profit Sharing, Introducing farm/farm family insurance & Appreciation Programme - 2026 held on the 02nd of February at Temple Trees.

The MILCO National Dairy Farmers’ Profit Sharing, Introducing farm/farm family insurance & Appreciation Programme, organized under the theme, “A Nutritious and Thriving Nation Enriched by Milk,” was held to recognize the MILCO dairy farming community that contributed to the company recording its highest sales turnover in 2025 and achieving a historic net profit.

Under this programme, it has been decided to distribute performance incentives to 22,000 dairy farmers affiliated with MILCO. During the ceremony, dividend payments were symbolically awarded to 2,000 dairy farmers. Additionally, incentive payments were provided to dairy farmers across all provinces of the island, and field officers were also recognized. Membership certificates for pension entitlements under the Dairy Farmer Retirement Scheme, jointly implemented by the Social Security Fund and MILCO, were also awarded at this event.

Addressing the event, the Prime Minister stated that the current Government is committed to implementing an economic system based on economic democracy, where all producers across the country are integrated into the production process and benefits are equitably shared. She emphasized that this inclusive approach is a core pillar of the Government’s economic strategy.

The Prime Minister further noted that by minimizing fraud and corruption within state institutions, ensuring proper management, and providing goal-oriented leadership, public institutions can be transformed into strong, efficient entities that deliver tangible benefits to the people. She stated that MILCO has proven this within a short period of time.

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated:

These dividends are being distributed after 21 years. The last time this was done was during the brief period when His Excellency the President served as Minister of Agriculture. It has taken 21 years to reach this point. This clearly shows the extent of damage caused to this country by previous administrations. If we were able to achieve this within fifteen or sixteen months, it strongly proves the fraud committed by those who managed these institutions for decades. The time has now come to correct those wrongs and to build institutions properly, that involve everyone in the economic process and ensure benefits for all.

Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation, K.D. Lalkantha also expressed appreciation to the Chairman, Board of Directors, staff of MILCO, and the dairy farmers for transforming MILCO into a high-income-generating enterprise within a short time of period and emphasized the importance of assigning national value to such achievements.

The Minister stated that the development of MILCO and its significant revenue generation were made possible through the people-oriented policies and actions of the new Government, and further stated that state institutions can be developed into major revenue earners. The Minister assured continued Government support to address the challenges faced by dairy farmers and urged them to remain committed to maintaining high standards and proper procedures in the dairy industry.

The event was attended by the Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Wasantha Samarasinghe, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Namal Karunarathne, Member of Parliament to Anuradhapura District Mr. Susantha Kumara Navarathna, Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation D.P. Wickramasinghe, Chairman of MILCO Hemajeewa Gotabhaya, along with ministry and institutional officials and dairy farmers from across the island.

Prime Minister’s Media Division

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated that the environmental protection should not be limited to a single day, but must become an integral part of everyday life. The Prime Minister further noted that the development cannot be achieved by ignoring the environment.

The Prime Minister made these remarks while attending as the Chief Guest at the State ceremony held to mark World Wetlands Day under the theme “Wetlands and traditional knowledge: Celebrating cultural heritage,”held today (02) at the “Ape Gama” premises in Battaramulla.

During the occasion, the Minister of Environment, Dr. Dammika Patabendi, officially declared Gonameriya as a protected area. The event also featured the launch of the Waterfall Catalogue, the Waterfall Directory and the magazine “Wetlands Sri Lanka” and certificates were awarded to the winners of the All-Island Art Competition conducted in commemoration of World Wetlands Day.

Further elaborating, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya noted,

Sri Lanka’s traditional irrigation systems and agricultural practices embody unique scientific knowledge that does not harm the environment.

Knowledge is not confined to a single form and children should study and learn from this traditional knowledge. Sri Lanka’s irrigation systems and agriculture are founded on a science that protects nature.

Wetlands are not merely marshy lands, but serve as a natural shield that protects the water systems, climatic stability, and biodiversity of the country. In the face of adverse climate changes such as recent cyclones, proper environmental protection is essential to minimize damage. The protection of natural resources forms the fundamental basis of the policy vision “A Thriving Nation – A Beautiful Life.”

The event was attended by Minister of Environment Dr. Dammika Patabendi, Deputy Minister of Environment Anton Jayakodi, Deputy Minister of Education and Higher Education Dr. Madhura Senevirathna, along with Ministry Secretaries and a large number of government officials.

Prime Minister’s Media Division