-By LeN Foreign Affairs Correspondent
(Lanka-e-News -25.June.2025, 5.40 AM) In the gentle light of dawn, as the streets of Colombo barely stirred to life, Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Dr Harini Amarasuriya, boarded her flight bound for Vancouver, Canada. But this was no ordinary state visit. For three days—from June 24 to 26—the soft-spoken yet steely academic-turned-politician will represent South Asia at the Board of Governors of the Commonwealth of Learning (COL), the global think tank devoted to education and training for sustainable development.
This appointment, quietly historic, positions Dr Amarasuriya at the nerve centre of educational innovation in the Commonwealth. At a time when Sri Lanka wrestles with economic hardship, systemic inequalities, and the yawning digital divide, the Prime Minister’s presence at COL marks both a diplomatic gesture and a policy pivot.
The Commonwealth of Learning, headquartered in Burnaby, British Columbia, may not command the name recognition of UNESCO or the World Bank, but among educationists and development strategists, it is a powerful player. Created by Commonwealth Heads of Government in 1987, COL works with countries across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the Pacific to improve access to quality education through distance learning, open education resources (OER), and digital technology.
The Board of Governors, a 14-member council drawn from across the Commonwealth, is where the future of accessible, tech-integrated learning is shaped. That a Sri Lankan prime minister now holds a South Asian seat at this table speaks volumes—not only about her personal credibility but about the country’s renewed strategic focus on education reform.
Prime Minister Amarasuriya’s appointment comes at a crucial juncture for Sri Lanka. After years of political upheaval, post-pandemic economic turmoil, and a deeply unequal education system exposed during the lockdowns, the nation has been forced to confront its chronic neglect of public education.
In this context, Amarasuriya’s government, elected on a platform of social justice, equity and accountability, has signalled a deliberate break from the transactional politics of the past. Her decision to personally attend the COL summit, rather than delegate the task to a junior official, underscores the weight she places on education as the cornerstone of national recovery.
According to the Prime Minister’s Media Division, the summit will delve into critical issues such as children and women’s education, higher education, teacher training, lifelong learning, and digital transformation. But beneath the benign development jargon lies a bold agenda: how to reinvent education in the Global South—not just as a public service but as a force for economic justice and social cohesion.
For those unfamiliar with her journey, Dr Harini Amarasuriya is not a career politician. A respected academic and sociologist, she once taught at the Open University of Sri Lanka and became known for her unflinching research into youth, education policy, and gender-based violence. Her elevation to Prime Ministership under a broad-left coalition was an unexpected but popular move—especially among students, women, and professionals disenchanted by decades of cronyism.
Critics called her naïve. Supporters saw her as principled. But even detractors admit that her calm, data-driven approach to governance has brought a refreshing change to the public discourse. She has avoided the theatrical populism of her predecessors, choosing instead to speak through policy papers, pilot projects, and parliamentary debate.
Her emphasis on open and distance learning (ODL)—a central tenet of the Commonwealth of Learning’s mission—has already begun reshaping Sri Lanka’s education ministry. Under her stewardship, vocational training centres are being retrofitted with digital modules. Teacher training colleges are rolling out hybrid curricula. And the long-neglected Ministry of Higher Education has been folded into the Prime Minister’s office, signalling its elevated importance.
But there is no sugar-coating the task ahead. According to the Department of Census and Statistics, nearly 60% of Sri Lankan households outside urban areas still lack regular access to the internet. Many government schools operate without functioning computer labs. Teachers trained in the 1980s are often left bewildered by the notion of Zoom or Moodle.
While the Commonwealth of Learning prides itself on “learning for sustainable development,” the hard truth is that sustainability starts with infrastructure—and Sri Lanka’s is in dire need of investment. That’s where COL’s technical assistance, toolkits, and collaborative projects with donor agencies can prove a lifeline.
The Vancouver summit will host closed-door sessions on digital infrastructure, monitoring and evaluation frameworks, investment in research, and gender-sensitive planning. Dr Amarasuriya is expected to lobby for South Asia-specific support mechanisms, including resource pooling, regional ODL platforms, and training for educational administrators.
The Prime Minister’s trip also comes with a personal mission. As a lifelong advocate for gender equality, Amarasuriya is likely to use the summit to spotlight education for women and girls, a priority theme for the 2025 agenda.
While Sri Lanka boasts high female literacy rates, participation in tertiary education and employment lags significantly behind male counterparts—especially in STEM fields. Gender-based violence and early marriage, though not as widespread as in neighbouring South Asian nations, still shape the lives of thousands of girls who drop out before completing school.
In previous speeches, Amarasuriya has argued that education policy must move beyond numbers and address deeper structural inequalities. “A girl in Monaragala deserves the same opportunities as a boy in Colombo 7,” she famously remarked last year during a parliamentary debate.
Her government has quietly rolled out scholarships for rural girls pursuing science and technology streams, introduced mandatory sex education modules in secondary schools, and expanded funding for university counselling services. All of this is in sync with COL’s 2025–2030 strategy, which places “gender equality and inclusion” at the heart of its programming.
While the summit is educational in nature, it also carries diplomatic undertones. In a post-Brexit world where the Commonwealth has sought to reinvent itself as a values-driven, collaborative bloc, events like COL are increasingly becoming platforms for soft diplomacy.
Sri Lanka’s pivot towards education-led foreign engagement is part of a broader attempt to distance itself from the debt diplomacy and extractive relationships that defined the Rajapaksa years. Amarasuriya’s leadership style, rooted in evidence and ethics, is earning cautious praise in corridors of power from Ottawa to Canberra.
Her one-on-one meetings in Vancouver—likely with Canadian Education Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, COL President Professor Asha Kanwar, and African regional representatives—could lead to bilateral MoUs, collaborative ODL projects, and even Commonwealth scholarships for Sri Lankan students.
More subtly, it allows Sri Lanka to showcase itself as a responsible, forward-looking Commonwealth member—one that contributes ideas, not just asks for aid.
But while the Prime Minister mingles with global educators, back home, her government faces mounting pressure to deliver on promises.
The University Grants Commission is in uproar over budget cuts. Teachers’ unions are threatening strikes over pay anomalies. And a controversial curriculum reform bill—aimed at reducing exam pressure and incorporating “critical thinking”—is stalled in committee due to political infighting.
Opposition MPs, while praising her international efforts, accuse the Prime Minister of neglecting domestic fires. “It’s all very well to fly to Canada,” one MP quipped on social media, “but the Grade 5 scholarship exam is in shambles.”
Amarasuriya, in response, has insisted that international engagement is not escapism—but essential. “We cannot fix education in isolation. We must learn, borrow, and collaborate,” she said before departing.
What happens in Vancouver this week may not make front-page news in Colombo. But in the long arc of Sri Lankan development, this summit could well mark a quiet turning point.
A Prime Minister who refuses to play to the gallery. A region desperate for equitable, quality education. And a global organisation looking for practical impact over platitudes.
As she steps into the COL Boardroom amid the towering pines of British Columbia, Harini Amarasuriya carries not just a national mandate but a regional responsibility. And if she succeeds in positioning education—not militarisation, not populism—as Sri Lanka’s true export to the world, it will be an achievement no less than historical.
-By LeN Foreign Affairs Correspondent
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by (2025-06-25 00:10:21)
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