May 13, Colombo: Sri Lanka's Cabinet of Ministers has given approval to resume registration of international schools under the Companies Act, on the recommendations of the Ministry of Education until a formal legal framework is formulated.

The move was proposed by the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in his capacity as the Minister of National Policies and Economic Affairs.

A statement released after the recent cabinet meeting said as a result of the non-formulation of laws and regulations pertaining to the registration, accreditation and regulation of international schools, there is a tendency of establishing an unlimited number of international schools below standards island‑wide along various informal methods of registration.

Since the children who receive the education from these schools form more than 95 percent of the Sri Lankan nationals, it should be ensured that they receive a quality education to suit the needs of the country.

When requesting the Sri Lankan community living abroad to return to Sri Lanka to contribute to the development process of the country and attracting the foreign investors into the country, the availability of standardized international schools is an essential factor and an absolute necessity.

Accordingly, taking into consideration the proposal made by the Prime Minister, the Cabinet has granted approval to resume the registration of international schools under the Companies Act, on the recommendations of the Ministry of Education until such time that a formal legal framework is formulated.

The Cabinet further decided to appoint a Cabinet Sub‑Committee to study and make necessary recommendations and establish legal provision for the registration, accreditation, regulation, quality assurance and monitoring and making it mandatory for the training of the teachers of those schools and for teaching of the subjects of Sinhala, Tamil, Religion and History for the Sri Lankan students receiving their education in the international schools, the statement said.