A delegation of international human rights organizations arrived in Kandy yesterday (12) and called on the Most Venerable Thibbatuwawe Sri Sumangala Thero, the Chief Prelate of the Malwatta Maha Viharaya Chapter. On that occasion, the Thero expressed his views on the government's attempt to extend the retirement age of judges and the related constitutional amendment.
The Thero said that it is regrettable that no response has been received so far regarding the letter sent to the President expressing his opinion on the constitutional amendment to extend the retirement age of court judges.
The Maha Thero said that it is a tradition since ancient times for the Trinitarian Maha Thero to advise the rulers of the country on various issues and matters in terms of meaning and Dhamma, and that it is a common practice to send letters of acknowledgement to the Thero in both oral and written notifications.
The Maha Thero, who expressed his views on the problems in the education sector and the crises faced by the farming community, also drew attention to the problems that have arisen regarding the substandard Atapirikara available in the market.
"If the Maha Nayaka Theros send a letter to the President or the rulers of the state, why else would they send a reply that the letter was received? There has been no reply to the letter sent by the Trinitarian Maha Nayakas regarding the issue of the retirement age of these judges. At least we have not been informed whether the letter was received.
Whenever there is a problem in the country, it has been a thing since the days of the king that the Maha Sangha preaches the Dhamma to the rulers of the state in a meaningful way. Giving advice and admonitions is something we normally do. But what is happening now is also a problem for us. We have seen some MPs and ministers even say in Parliament that the President has not received a letter from the Maha Nayakas.
No one has ever made a permanent policy that suits the country on any important subject. When policies are made on certain subjects, the next government abolishes them. That is the situation. The country is always in the same place. There is no permanent policy that suits the country on any subject. There are no policies. Those who come do not make them. They work as they want and in a way that benefits them. None of these people do what they say when they are in opposition after coming to power. They forget.
If you look at education in this country today, there are many problems. Previously, only A-level and O-level had tutoring classes. Now, tutoring classes are available from one year. Tutoring classes are everywhere. Also, there are various universities everywhere, previously there were only government ones. When the country and the world change, we need to move forward. But it is not good to continue destroying the civilization, morality and culture of the country. Proper regulation is needed regarding these education systems. Today, we do not even know whether the upper classes are taught in government schools or not. Children are in private tutoring classes. There is no regulation for this. The same teachers who teach in those schools sometimes teach in private tutoring classes, that is the situation. There has been a problem in the education system for a long time.
Today, children do not go to Dhamma schools. There are private tutoring classes even on Sundays. Because. For how long have we informed the responsible people about this? That there is no need for tuition classes on Sundays. Or that there is no need for them in the mornings. No government has paid attention to this. Education is needed to suit the new world. But a country needs to provide knowledge about values, morality, culture, our heritage and customs to the future generation of the country.'' Thero said there.