Request to be made to open Sectoral Oversight Committee sittings to media

A request is to be made to the Speaker to allow the media to cover Sectoral Oversight Committee (SOC) sittings in Parliament, Parliamentarian Ashu Marasinghe said today (July 19).

“This is extremely important to ensure democracy in the country,” Prof. Marasinghe, who heads the SOC on Education & Human Resources Development, told a news conference this morning.

He pointed out that the Education, Higher Education, Science and Technology, Vocational Training, and Labour Ministries could be supervised by his SOC.

“Even ministers too can be summoned before the Committee for investigations. Therefore, it is important for the public to understand the powers of the SOC,” Marasinghe noted.

Further, he also said that a national policy on Artificial Intelligence and STEM learning will be taken up for discussion within two months by the SOC on Education.

STEM is a curriculum based on four specific disciplines science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

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