Program to provide sanitary napkins for female students, island-wide from 2026

A special discussion was held on May 22 at the Ministry of Education regarding school children's insurance. This discussion was chaired by Secretary to the Prime Minister, Mr. Harini Amarasuriya, and was attended by the Secretary to the Ministry of Education, Dr. Madhura Senewiratne.

During the discussion, special attention was paid to the program launched by the Ministry of Education in 2024 as a national operation to provide insurance coverage for school children. This program aims to target over a million students from Grade 6 upwards who are covered by schools across the island, especially those in rural, difficult, and economically disadvantaged areas, starting from 2026.

The government has allocated a fund of 1.44 billion rupees for this purpose. It has been planned to provide an annual premium of Rs. 1,440 per student for obtaining insurance coverage, and these premiums are to be distributed to schools through the Provincial Education Offices.

To facilitate the payment of insurance premiums, the Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation has taken steps to distribute the insurance policies to schools through its provincial offices.

Furthermore, the Prime Minister made several special observations. These included ensuring that students receive their insurance policies on time and as needed, establishing a systematic process for distributing policies and insurance policies according to geographical disparities in the regions, and implementing a systematic process for renewing insurance policies as beneficial to the future environment. The Prime Minister also emphasized the effectiveness and ease of the program.

The Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Ms. Kaluvava, and other officials also participated in this discussion.