The Official Language Act (No. 33 of 1956), commonly referred to as the Sinhala Only Act, was an act passed in the Parliament of Ceylon in 1956. The act replaced English with Sinhala as the sole official language of Ceylon, with the exclusion of Tamil. In 1958 Tamil Language (Special Provisions) Act of 1958 was passed giving official status to Tamil for medium of instruction in school and university education and for admission to the public service as well for correspondence and administration in the Northern and Eastern Provinces.