SDG are developed to transform the society in every aspect and therefor it is not possible to achieve one goal in isolation. To enjoy the benefit of the development it is vital to maintain Peace and justice in the society. This is important scenario for Sri Lanka as we need to work for reconciliation.  CED conducted Training of Trainer programme for selected district coordinator on transitional Justice. This programme was held on 12 and 13 of August in Colombo.  To make use the knowledge gained through the programme the participants of this training was provide an opportunity to conduct training on transitional justice and reconciliation in their locations. Accordingly  18 trainees organized 09 provincial level programme in their respective locations.

CED conducted various activities to celebrate international important days for education CED members participated for five radio discussion and these programme were broadcast on world Children day. In addition CED joined hand with district/divisional secretaries in 5 provinces to celebrate these events. Conducting programme with the collaboration of the government institute provided us the opportunity to reach wider community and build recognition on CED. In these discussions CED representatives emphasise the areas that need to pay more attention to develop the education sector. The also presented the preliminary findings of the studies that conducted by CED in this media discussion.

The new government that came in to power in 2015 stated that they would introduce significant changes the existing education system. They also indicated that new framework will be developed taking in to consideration the targets mentioned under SDG 4. Although senior politicians including the prime minister made several statements with regard to educational reforms in different location a formal proposals or plan has not been submitted by the government. CED asked for opportunities to take part in the planning process, however our request has not been considered by the authorities.     In this context CED searched for alternative strategies.

After having a discussion with the CED board members it was decided to developed civil society proposal on educational reforms. In this process CED obtained   assistance of a reputed educationalist to facilitate the consultation workshop and develop these proposals. The initial workshop was held on 09 April in Colombo.

All the suggestions submitted by the workgroups recorded and then analysed and categorized under ten thematic areas. In these proposals special attention was given to achieve the national education goals as well as sustainable development goal 04 –ensuring quality education for all.  The draft proposals were reviewed by panel of experts at the sub session followed by the initial workshop. After consolidating all the important suggestions    CED handed over the proposals to Secretary of education In November at the special ceremony held in Colombo.   The secretary appreciated the initiative and informed that CED will be invited for the future discussions.   This proposal also sent to the education reform committee of the National Education commission. CED expects to lobby the provincial education ministers and relevant authorities for reforms based on the point in this proposals.

CED conducted 18 training workshops on SDGs and SDG4 for the parents and teachers. These training workshops were organized by CED district coordinators with the assistant of zonal education directors. Through 18 district level training programmes CED was able to reach 750 school teachers. These awareness programmes also helped to build recognition for the partner organization and they were able to strength the contact with the provincial education authorities.

CED involved in planning and conducting series of consultation meeting to draft national action plan for SDGs special focusing on SDG4. These meetings were organized according to the request by Ministry of Sustainable Development and wild life – the ministry specially established to guide and monitor the progress of achieving overall SDG in Sri Lanka . The initial consultation workshop was held on 03 February at SAPSRI training centre. The additional secretary and the SDG consultant of the ministry of SDG participated for the consultation. This event provide an opportunity to the CED member organization to build contact with the ministry of sustainable development.

Influence of the social media is increasing in the Sri Lankan society and it more popular among youth generation. To utilize the power of social media and to encourage youth to involve in education sector CED conducted a social media training work shop for youth. The main objectives of this training are to capacitate/motivate the member organization to utilize social media to lobby and inform the authorities about the burning issues related to education and make them responsive to resolve those issues through public dialogue. This training was held on 23 and 24 October at Sri Lanka Foundation institute in Colombo 07. The participant had an opportunity to gain a comprehensive knowledge on Social medial with the practical experience.

To build a comprehensive awareness among the community on SDG 4, CED conducted Island wide campaign to celebrate global action week for education. In these campaigns CED emphasised the government responsibility to take immediate action to ensure quality education.

CED member organizations conducted these campaigns in 18 districts. Main target groups of these campaigns were parents and teachers. Through these programmes CED directly reached 1000 people who represent various geographical locations in Sri Lanka.

CED conducted an awareness raising programme on education privatization and the main objectives of this awareness programme are to focus attention on the emerging role of private sector education institutes and motivate members to work towards protecting free public education. This programme was held on 05 May 2017 in Colombo. Ms Cecelia Soriano – Capacity development Adviser from ASPBAE facilitated the training and 18 District coordinators and all the provincial coordinators participated to this event.

Sri Lanka parliament passed the right to information act in this year. However there is no adequate knowledge among the public on how to get the maximum benefits from these regulations. CED conducted a training on RTI and the purpose of this training is to Improve awareness on RTI among member organizations to eliminate mal practices and corruption in the sphere of education. This training was held on 17 September at Ecumenical Centre. A total number of 45 trainees from 42 member organizations participated to this training. It is interesting to note that followed by the training some of the member organizations demand the information from various government institutes and as a result of that they were able to make positive impact on education sector.

The current budget allocation for education is 4{67d27179d7d0c3621040ab84791be651b5deae618f5785262d8fa715feffd73a} of the GDP. There is no adequate knowledge among the public on the budget process and how allocation of finance for the different subsectors. CED conducted training on budget process to build the capacity of the member organisation to effectively involve in the budget process This training was held on 09 December 2017 at the Ecumenical centre Havelock town Colombo 06. The main objective of the training are to build capacity of the CED member organization on how finance allocation are being made for the education sector, identify the available opportunities to influence the budget process and motivate them to lobby the authorities for effective financing for quality education.