Cabinet Spokesman, Transport, Highways and Mass Media Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardhana said that it was an insult on his electorate for the Opposition Leader to make a political speech after giving the Homagama Central School a smart classroom of only Rs.1 mn.
The minister mentioned this at the Cabinet media conference held at the Government Information Department yesterday (26).
The Minister further said that a few weeks ago, the Cabinet made a decision that the school should not be used for political purposes. Anyone can donate to schools.
But school should not be used to hold meetings for political purposes. A Cabinet paper was presented stating that it should not be allowed. The largest secondary school in South Asia is the Mahinda Rajapaksa Vidyalaya and it is located in Pitipana. There are nearly 7,000 children. There are nearly 300 teachers. Last year, the highest number of children appeared for the examination. All 769 students passed the Advanced Level.
Homagama is an example of education. There is a green university on the other side. In front of it is the 28-acre Sri Jayewardenepura University’s Technology Faculty. Another 25 acres land is where the Colombo University’s Technology Faculty is situated.The Nanotechnology Institute, Telecom Database, National Textbook Distribution Center, Pali and Buddhist University, Moratuwa University’s Technology and Sri Jayewardenepura University Engineering Faculties are in Homagama and it is an educational hub, he said. “Going to a place like this and giving a classroom worth one million rupees is not good for him. If he had talked to me I would have taken him on a tour of the area and helped him gain a tangible understanding of how to turn a village into a country,” the Minister said.
Nuwan Kodikara