The government will recommence the Suraksha Student Insurance Coverage programme for a period of three years, starting today, Minister of Education Susil Premajayantha announced.

The minister said the Suraksha Student Insurance Coverage programme will be implemented for students of government, government-approved private schools, Piriven, and special schools. 

He made the announcement at the ceremony held for the signing of the agreement between the Ministry of Education and the Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation on the implementation of the insurance scheme. 

Secretary of the Education Ministry, Thilaka Jayasundara signed the agreement on behalf of the Ministry and the Chief Operations Officer of the Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation, Priyanta Perera signed on behalf of the state-owned insurer.

Speaking on the insurance scheme, Minister Susil Premajayantha noted that the Ministry of Education has invested an amount of Rs. 7,112 million for this purpose. 

“Through this insurance coverage, benefits of Rs. 300,000 will be provided for inpatient treatments at government or private hospitals, Rs. 20,000 for outpatient treatments, and up to Rs. 1,500,000 for benefits related to critical illnesses. 

“Furthermore, in case of permanent disability, a benefit of Rs. 200,000 will be provided; for permanent partial disability, Rs. 150,000 will be provided; and in the case of temporary disability, benefits ranging from Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 100,000 will be given. 

“Additionally, under the life insurance coverage, for students from families with an annual income of less than Rs. 180,000, a benefit of Rs. 75,000 will be provided for each student in families eligible under the ‘Aswesuma’ program, and a maximum amount of Rs. 225,000 will be set aside for one death, to be divided equally among all students in the family. This insurance will also apply separately in the event of the death of either the parent or the legal guardian of the student,” the Education Minister explained.

Minister Susil Premajayantha added that school students will receive a free card for this insurance scheme and that the insurance programme has been digitized.

The Suraksha Student Insurance Coverage programme has been relaunched after Cabinet approval was granted in July this year to award the contract to Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation General Limited for three (03) years. 

Having called quotations from Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation on a previous Cabinet order and having evaluated the bidding proposal presented by the state-owned insurer by the negotiation committee appointed by the Cabinet of Ministers, it was recommended to execute the Suraksha Student Insurance Coverage for the years 2024/2025, 2025/2026 and 2026/2027 for an amount of Rs. 6.027 billion (excluding VAT).