Deputy Minister Mahinda Jayasinghe has incorrectly cited information while addressing Parliament on the controversial web link issue in school textbooks.
Speaking in Parliament, Jayasinghe said the Grade 11 Information and Communication Technology (ICT) textbook published in 2015 contained the same controversial weblink, noting that the textbook is still in use.
“Page 77 includes a number of links. One of those links is this ‘buddy’- the one you referred to as obscene. This was introduced during the Maithri–Ranil–Sajith government. This is the textbook that is still being used. Nobody saw this,” he said.
Opposition MP Rohini Wijerathna, however, rejected the claim, saying the deputy minister had confused links appearing in two separate textbooks.
“The 2015 ICT textbook contains the link ‘ebuddy.net’. The English module carries a different URL. These should not be mixed up,” she said.
The exchange followed controversy over the inclusion of a link to an adult chat website in the Grade 6 English module.
During his speech, Deputy Minister Jayasinghe referred to a messenger application titled “eBuddy.”
“Ebuddy” is a messaging application, while the controversial link included in the English module is a gay chat website (Newswire)