Sajith pledges stronger child-abuse laws, nutrition policy, free pre-school education

Presidential candidate Sajith Premadasa today (Oct 1) pledged to tighten child abuse laws, implement a programme to eradicate malnutrition, and regulate pre-schools, if voted into power.

Addressing a news conference which coincided with Children’s Day, Premadasa insisted that stronger laws are required to combat child abuse. He pointed out that children fall prey to narcotics and commit acts of child abuse as grownups.

“Through an independent and transparent judicial system, I will impose a similar punishment on those convicted of drug racketeering and child abuse,” Premadasa said.

While pointing out malnutrition is a serious issue among children, the Democratic National Front (DNF)'s candidate noted that this issue could result in growth problems and destroy a person’s childhood.

“We will introduce a national nutrition policy targeting infants and children across all Grama Niladhari divisions in the country,” he said pointing out that children need to be protected as they "are the most valuable asset to the country".

Meanwhile, the presidential candidate also pledged to ensure that pre-school education is given free-of-charge under his government.

“Our pre-school education system is inefficient, lacks a proper plan, and is not regulated,” he stressed claiming that there are some 19,000 pre-schools in the country and only 10,000 are registered.

Accordingly, Premadasa said that he would establish a strong pre-school system that is up to international standards and subject to regulation by the government.