Minister of Education Akila Viraj Kariyawasam has stated that the Government would be investing a large sum of money in the Suraksha Insurance Policy, to aid the development of sport in the nation. He made this statement at a press briefing held last evening to announce the National School Games 2017.
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“A lot of children have financial problems when recovering from injuries. So the insurance scheme will benefit them and help in their sporting career”, the Minister explained.
The Ministry of Education has made plans to offer more than five hundred thousand rupees worth of benefits to students via the Suraksha Insurance Policy. If a student is hospitalized in a government hospital, the insurance cover will pay a sum Rs.1000 per day while if it is a private hospital the insurance will cover a sum of one hundred thousand of the final bill.
Apart from the hospital facilities, the Ministry has had discussions with private hospitals and specialists to provide discounts to all students under the insurance policy. Both private hospitals and specialists will offer twenty percent discount to students in the case of hospitalization or consultancy.
The Minister went on to say that, “We (the ministry) will pay a child Rs. 75,000 if their parents pass away and we will pay 100,000 to parents if their child passes away”.
Although it is a usual practice for the Ministry to focus on students being educated at government schools, this time around the Ministry of Education has taken steps to ensure that all the students in government, private and international schools reap the benefits of this insurance scheme.
“We have not limited the insurance policy to only government schools, but children who are studying in both private and international schools will also be covered”, explained the Minister.
While the insurance policy was being set up on one side, the Ministry of Education has taken further measures to ensure that student athletes and their parents don’t face financial stress when recovering from injuries and illnesses.
The Minister further stated,
“Apart from the insurance we are also planning to set up a fund just like the president’s fund so that whatever the insurance cannot cover when treating a critical illness, the fund could be of help to parents who are undergoing financial difficulties.”
The government will be investing an amount of 2.7 Billion rupees and the project has been handed over to the Sri Lankan Insurance Corporation. The Minister shared with media the background story to the two projects implemented,
“I have witnessed parents coming with various financial difficulties to us in order to treat their children. They also engage in various fund raising activates in order to cover the finances. I felt as if there should be no need of doing such things and that we should have a proper system to help the parents in need”
Apart from lending a helping hand to those facing financial difficulties, the Ministry of Education has looked into the technical aspects of the sport in school level as well. The Minister further stated that the recruitment of 3,850 coaches for sports have already been gazetted.
It is heartening to see that the country`s base and foundation of the sporting structure is being strengthened with long-term plans being put into place.
