Under the series of programs planned for Mother ஸ்ரீ ලංකා, the first and the most important program is The Mother ஸ்ரீ ලංකා School Program, which is aimed at targeting our 4.2 million school children in the country who will be entrusted with the task of taking this country forward.

In order to reach this target group, an approach of engagement, interaction and dialogue has been selected as the most appropriate. Hence, the Mother ஸ்ரீ ලංකා Trust together with the Ministry of Education has embarked on the Mother ஸ்ரீ ලංකා schools program which is probably the first of its’ kind to be implemented among Sri Lankan schools.

The Mother ஸ்ரீ ලංකා School program aims to encourage children to think “Country First” by organising various activities through the Mother ஸ்ரீ ලංකා clubs.

The Mother ஸ்ரீ ලංකා Schools Programme is implemented on behalf of the Mother ஸ்ரீ ලංකා Foundation and The Presidential Secretariat by the Ministry of Education.

Objectives of Mother ஸ்ரீ ලංකා Schools Program

• To evoke a sense of pride about the motherland among children
• To motivate them to play a proactive role in the next era of development of the country
• To instill faith in the next generation about their motherland’s resources
• To continue this program of work through the establishment of Mother = ලංකා clubs in the schools.

The Dialogue Competition

As a first step, the movement has organised a series of dialog competitions on the lines of: “What can the children of Sri Lanka give back to our country?” - “Apen Ratata, Rata Nagumata”, among all schools that offer upto A’Level classes. The program covers all the public and private schools that offer classes upto A’Levels, numbering over 2500, as well as International schools that have come forward and shown interest.

The presentations were made under the themes:

1. As students how can we are a part of the development of our Nation?

2. I must change for my country to change.

3. How can unity among all ethnic communities contribute to Nation Building?

4. How can we use our indigenous/ traditional technologies/knowledge in today’s world?

5. My attitude will be the spirit of my Nation.

Each participant school is asked to make a presentation of ideas based on the topics given under the above main theme in teams of 6-8 children. The best themes are chosen based on a common marking scheme which rewards innovative and proactive thinking that is creatively presented. The winning schools from the education zonal level will then compete at a provincial level. The winners of the provincial level competition will then compete with other winning schools in a grand all-island competition.

Not stopping at a competition, Mother ஸ்ரீ ලංකා schools program will be continued among the schools through the Mother ஸ்ரீ ලංකා clubs which will be established in each participant school.

During the province level competitions each school that participates in the competition is required to establish the Mother ஸ்ரீ ලංකා Society in their school. The mandate and constitution of these societies are explained at every preliminary meeting to the Educational Directors and school principals by officials of The Mother ஸ்ரீ ලංකා Foundation.

The primary role of the Mother ஸ்ரீ ලංකා clubs is to continue the work initiated by this program by starting with the implementation of the practical ideas presented by the school team and thereafter by regularly conducting programs to achieve the objectives of Mother ஸ்ரீ ලංකා.

Total size of the Population that will be reached through the MSL Schools Program