The Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education has announced that the implementation of the new Grade 6 syllabus will be postponed until 2027, while school education activities for 2026 will proceed under revised arrangements. The decision follows the Cabinet meeting held on January 13, 2026.
As a result, Grade 6 students will continue to follow the existing syllabus, using textbooks from the previous academic year. School principals have been instructed to manage the collection and redistribution of these textbooks, and soft copies will also be made available through the Ministry’s ‘e-Thaksalawa’ platform. New textbooks will only be printed where necessary.
Meanwhile, formal academic activities for the new Grade 1 curriculum, set to be introduced this year, will begin on January 29, 2026. Schools from Grade 6 to Grade 13 will follow a timetable of eight 40-minute periods, consistent with previous years’ arrangements.
The Ministry also confirmed that pilot modules linked to the new education reforms will be implemented in selected provinces during 2026, and teacher training programmes connected to the reforms will continue throughout the year. Other key initiatives, including human resource and infrastructure development, assessment improvements, and public awareness campaigns, will also be implemented progressively.
Secretary to the Ministry, Nalaka Kaluwewa, commended education authorities, school principals, and teachers for their dedication in supporting the implementation of teacher training and related activities, and reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to successfully rolling out the new education reforms in the coming years.
