Did the PM Harini question the opposition for not coming forward regarding the Grade 6 module before printing?

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A widely shared social media post alleges that Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya made a statement about the controversial Grade 6 English Language module. This fact-check examines whether the alleged statement is credible.

Social Media Posts:

The social media post claims that Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, Prime Minister Dr Harini Amarasuriya, questioned, “If the Grade 6 English module is inappropriate for young children, why didn’t the opposition say so before the printing?”

Facebook | Archived Link

Many people have commented on this, speculating that the Prime Minister actually made such a statement, and a significant number of others have also shared this post on their social media accounts.

Further posts were shared on Facebook and Twitter.

  Facebook | Archived Link                        Twitter | Archived Link

Also, a series of various insulting and satirical comments was circulated on social media based on 
the statement. Based on the requests we received to check the authenticity of this information, we conducted a fact-check.

Fact Check:

We first checked the mainstream media reports to check whether the Prime Minister had actually made such a statement, but we couldn’t find any such report. At several instances, she has made some comments regarding the Grade 6 module, which can be referred to here, here, and here; but none of the media outlets reported on such a statement.

Media Division of Prime Minister Harini Amarasooriya

The Media Secretary to the Prime Minister, Dr Harini Amarasuriya, Minister of Education, Higher Education, and Vocational Education, stated that the Prime Minister has never made such a statement and that the circulating posts are completely false.

Furthermore, when we investigated the photo used for this social media post, we found that it was a photo taken when the Prime Minister attended the District Coordination Committee meeting held at the Colombo District Secretariat on December 23. Moreover, the meeting was held to review the post-disaster recovery of the Colombo District and the development progress of the Western Province in 2025, and not to discuss issues related to education.

The Opposition’s views on the Grade 6 module

The government was severely criticised by various parties, including the opposition, regarding the incident of mentioning the name of an inappropriate website that was set to be introduced under the new education reforms.

Trade unions state that these reforms should be revised again. Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Sajith Premasa stated in the Parliament that if the education reforms had been implemented more formally through a public dialogue, the mention of an inappropriate website in the module could have been avoided.

Grade 6 education reforms postponed to 2027

Cabinet Spokesperson, Minister Dr Nalinda Jayatissa, said on 13th that the government has decided to review the Grade 6 curriculum reform, which was scheduled to be implemented from this year, and initiate it from 2027.

It was announced at the Cabinet press conference that the first education reforms will be implemented this year, as planned.

Minister Nalinda Jayatissa also stated that the Governing Council of the National Institute of Education will take disciplinary action against the officials responsible for the incident based on the results of the investigation report conducted by the Criminal Investigation Department and the Ministry of Education regarding the Grade 6 English module in question.

The National Institute of Education’s Acting Director General was sent on compulsory leave.

The Deputy Director General of the National Institute of Education, Darshana Samaraweera, has been sent on compulsory leave, and two other female officers have been suspended in connection with the controversial Grade 6 module crisis.

The Governing Council of the National Institute of Education has taken these decisions in accordance with the interim recommendations of the preliminary examination conducted for the Grade 6 English module.

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Conclusion :

Our investigation shows that the Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, Prime Minister Dr Harini Amarasuriya, has not made a statement saying, “If the Grade 6 English module is inappropriate for young children, why didn’t the opposition say so before the printing?” The post circulating on social media is a fake post made using a photograph taken while attending a meeting held at the Colombo District Secretariat.