In the debate on the third reading of the 2026 national budget held on 25 November 2025, Prime Minister and Education Minister Harini Amarasuriya highlighted the government’s increased focus on education. She stated that the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education has been allocated Rs. 7.04 billion, equivalent to 2.04 percent of the national GDP — the highest percentage in recent years.

Responding to the Prime Minister, Opposition Member of Parliament Chamara Sampath Dassanayake noted that similar or higher allocations for education had been made during previous administrations. He emphasized that during Bandula Gunawardena’s tenure as Minister of Education, and later under Akila Viraj Kariyawasam in 2016, 2017, and 2018, the share of GDP allocated to education was even higher.

A review of past budget allocations confirms these claims. During Akila Viraj Kariyawasam’s tenure, the allocation to education rose from 2.11 percent of GDP in 2015 to 3.23 percent in 2016, and stood at 2.59 percent in 2017. These figures validate Dasanayake’s assertion that previous ministers had, at times, secured a larger portion of the national product for education.

At the same time, the current allocation of 2.04 percent of GDP represents the highest in the seven years since 2018, supporting Prime Minister Amarasuriya’s statement that the government has prioritized education with a larger allocation after a prolonged period.

FactSeeker concludes that both positions presented in Parliament are accurate: past ministers had higher allocations in certain years, while the 2026 budget reflects the largest allocation for education in the recent post-2018 period.