Coalition of Educational Development conducted an awareness programme on ‘Enhancing participatory planning and An introduction to General Education Sector Transformation Framework (GESTF) for the Education planning officers of the Southern Province. This programme was conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and the Provincial Department of Education, Southern Province. This programme was held on July 25th, 2026, at the Grand Rockland Hotel, Matara.
In this Awareness programme, CED emphasizes the importance of involvement/contribution of civil society consultation in education policymaking, planning, implementation, and monitoring. Followed by this session, an Introduction on the ongoing General Education reform process was conducted. The participant had the opportunity to obtain deeper understanding on the GESFT2023 2027 and make their comments on the draft plan that scheduled to be completed in August. A total number of 44 people, including the Provincial Director of Education, the Deputy Director of Education (Planning), the ADE/DDE Provincial, the Zonal Director of Education, and Planning officers, participated in this event.
In addition, the CED provincial coordinator and the representatives of the CED provincial member organizations also participated in this event. This was a good opportunity for the CED member organizations to further strengthen the collaboration and build rapport with the officials of the provincial Ministry of Education.
Session Highlights:
*The first session, conducted by Dr. Jayantha Balasooriya, Freelance Consultant, focused on the importance of civil society participation in education policy-making, planning, implementation, and monitoring, ensuring an inclusive and transparent approach to educational development.
*The second session, conducted by Mr. A.H.M. Fazil, Deputy Director of Education (Policy and Planning), Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, highlighted the main component of the GESTF and obtained comments/suggestions from the participants.
Mr. Premabandu Jayathilaka (Provincial Coordinator), Provincial members, and CED Staff representatives participated in this event. CED would like to thank all participants, speakers, and stakeholders. who actively participated for this event.