The Cabinet approved a proposal by Education Minister Prof. G L Pieris to increase the number of National Schools to 1,000, covering all District Secretariats.
The project will be completed in three phases. The Education Minister presented a proposal to develop one selected Provincial Council School as a National School in each of the 123 Divisional Secretariat Divisions where there are no National Schools under the first phase of the project.
Another 673 schools selected on the basis of identified criteria as national schools will be upgraded under the second phase. About 373 National Schools will be set up under the third phase.
Policy approval in this regard had been granted by the Cabinet on December 10 last year to implement an appropriate programme to establish 1,000 new National Schools covering all Divisional Secretariats.