Sri Lanka: School Program Link Leads to Gay Dating Site

A criminal investigation is underway in Sri Lanka following an incident involving a school English program. A hyperlink, intended for students aged 11 and 12, led to a gay dating website.

The Ministry of Education has filed a complaint and launched an internal investigation. Education Minister Nalaka Kaluwewe suggested it may be sabotage aimed at delaying educational reforms.

The program suggested students find pen pals through buddy.net, which is actually a dating site for men. Same-sex relationships are illegal in Sri Lanka.

The page with the problematic link was removed from the 400,000 copies of the book. The program also contained spelling errors and was created with the help of artificial intelligence websites.

Manjula Vitanapathirana, director of the National Institute of Education, has resigned pending the results of the investigation.

Authorities have asked the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission to block access to the website.