The mid-day meal programme for all students in Grades 1 through 5 will resume in March, Education Minister Susil Premajayantha has said. According to the minister, Rs. 16 billion has been set aside for the programme targeting about 1.6 million students. This means each mid-day meal plate will cost Rs. 110. The minister also said the textbooks needed for the 2024 academic year had been printed, and students would receive them together with the uniforms soon after the end of the third term. He made these remarks while addressing a ceremony at the ministry premises to officially welcome 162 graduates recruited to the Sri Lanka Teaching Service to teach foreign languages in national schools.
Given the growing trend of students learning foreign languages, global economic trends, and the current economic priorities in this country, the Minister emphasised that the government had plans to increase the number of schools teaching foreign languages, with a special focus on schools with language laboratories. The new teachers were recruited in terms of a Cabinet resolution, and they will be teaching French, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Hindi, and German languages in state schools.