{"id":87277,"date":"2019-04-18T16:12:34","date_gmt":"2019-04-18T23:12:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=87277"},"modified":"2019-04-18T16:12:34","modified_gmt":"2019-04-18T23:12:34","slug":"health-education-and-yahapalana-part-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2019\/04\/18\/health-education-and-yahapalana-part-4\/","title":{"rendered":"HEALTH, EDUCATION AND YAHAPALANA Part 4"},"content":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA\u00a0 PIERIS<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

This essay\nlooks at appointment, promotion, transfers and salaries of teachers and\nprincipals during Yahapalana rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

APPOINTMENTS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2017\nEducation Minister gave 2,000 non-academic appointments at national schools\nacross the country based on political influence without following a proper and\ntransparent recruitment process, said critics. Most of these recruitments are\nfrom the Kurunegala district, especially from Kuliyapitiya. These employees do\nnot even obey the Principals and work on their own agendas in schools. This has\ncreated a lot of administrative problems at schools. (Daily News 28.9.17 p 9) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

***<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ceylon\nTeachers\u2019 Union (CTU) was threatening to go on strike in June 2018 in  protest of the Government\u2019s move to absorb unqualified\npersons into the education sector. CTU said they\nwere against the government\u2019s plan to give appointments and promotions to 1,200\npersons without following  the\nprocedures  given by the Public Service\nCommission . Officers of\nthe Education Ministry ,Examinations Department, Provincial Education\nDepartments and Zonal Education Departments would participate in the strike. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

**&
\nAttempts were made in 2017  to recruit individuals\nwho have not even passed G.C.E.O\/L as Sports Instructors. 15,000 prospective\ncandidates were interviewed for 3,000 vacancies for minor staff posts, titled\nSports Advisers\u201d for National Schools  by staff who did not  know anything \nabout the respective sports.Instead\nof filtering and reducing the numbers for interviews to economize on time, all\napplicants had been called for interviews. That involved nearly a month\u2019s work\nfor Ministry staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PROMOTIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In March\n2019,  Public Service Commission (PSC)\nhad turned down the list of names submitted by the Ministry of Education to\nfill the vacancies of Principals in the 302 National schools in the country.\nThey rejected  the selection criteria  used by the Ministry, the irregular marking\nscheme and the non categorization of schools. In 64 schools only Class I SLEAS\nofficers can be posted, and in 84 schools, Class II SLEAS officers are posted.\nThe PSC wanted the vacancies \nre-advertised and filled within three months. The Ministry  however, said on its website  that it had adopted proper procedure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

***<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In  May 2018, Ministry of Education decided to\ngrant relief to 1,018 teachers, principals and education administrators  reportedly affected by \u2018political victimization\u2019   by promoting them <\/strong>to higher\ngrades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These   1,018\npersonnel had been chosen from 14,000 applicants who had experienced political victimization\n and placed in a special category  \u2018politically victimized persons\u2019. A special\nCabinet paper was presented on the matter. \u2018They are victims and they have a\nright to get their grade increase along with salaries,\u2019 said Minister for Education.  \u2018We are not actively appointing them, <\/em>we are only\ngiving them a symbolic grade elevation and granting a salary increase to\ncompensate them\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Committee\ncomprising senior officials of the SLEAS and the Government Administrative\nService had been appointed to examine the list of names.  Accordingly, 250 Sri Lanka Education\nAdministrative Service (SLEAS ) officers and 800 candidates from the Sri Lanka\nPrincipal Service, Sri Lanka Education Administrative Service    and Sri Lanka Teacher Service were\nrecommended for promotions.  The Public\nServices Commission (PSC), which had approved the decision to promote\nthem,  stated that it had not looked at\nthe personal files of those recommended for promotions. The PSC had only looked\nat the appeals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ceylon Teachers\u2019\nUnion said it  had no objection to\nfinancial compensation, but strongly opposed promotions.  To get promotions or to enter the Education Administrative\nService one had to pass examinations. Those selected have not passed the\ncompetitive examinations  needed to\nqualify for the posts. The\nlist contained 27 persons   who have not\npassed mathematics at the GCE Ordinary Level Examination, which is mandatory\nand around 115 individuals have disciplinary inquiries pending.  Some of the \u2018victims\u2019 lack even the basic\nqualifications  needed for these posts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The PSC Act\nrequires that to qualify for promotions,<\/strong>\ncandidates have to sit for examinations held by the PSC. Just because a teacher was transferred due to\npolitical reasons, the government could not promote him or her as a Principal,\nsaid the unions. It was unfair by the \nteachers who went through the rigorous process of selection to see others\ngain promotion without facing assessment.  An injustice \nwas caused to those genuinely qualified for the posts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The unions  also charged that this was a ruse to promote over\n1,000 UNP supporters  using the excuse\nof  political victimization. The\nappointments were being granted as political favours rather than as justice for\nteachers who had genuinely faced victimization.  The Education Minister was providing favours\nto UNP-affiliated teachers and officials, charged the unions. Several names in\nthe list are there  on the\nrecommendations of politicians. A number of\nsecretaries and other minor officials of the Prime Minister\u2019s Office have also\nbeen categorized as political victims. Most of them have not been victimized at\nall.  Some have  given  flimsy reasons such as their roofs being\ndamaged by Opposition politicians. Past\ngovernments tried the same tactics and failed, with cases pending in the courts,\nsaid the unions. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The unions\nasked the Ministry of Education to immediately withdraw the list  of those to be promoted. Minister Kariyawasam\nsaid he would not be intimidated by unions and would proceed with the\npromotions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The   education unions thereafter engaged in three\nvigorous protests. They first  had a sick\nnote campaign, with the participation of Educational Administrative Service\nTrade Union, Teachers Education Association and the Trade Union Alliance of\nTeachers and Principals. 95% of the Teachers and Principals    went on \u2018Sick Leave\u2019. If the Government\ncontinues to ignore the demand, the Unions will join for a major strike, which\nwill affect the education programme in schools, they said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Nothing happened, so a faction  from the Ceylon Teachers Union, Teachers\u2019\nServices Union, Lanka Teacher Services\u2019 Association and Sri Lanka National\nPrincipals\u2019 Union went ahead with a  one\nday token strike on  July 4. 2018    Around 15,000 Principals and 240,000 Teachers\nparticipated in the  protest. <\/strong>Schools were\npartially affected with reduced attendance of teachers and students.   Classes were  deserted and parents came to take the children\n home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unionists\nrepresenting the two sides clashed in front of the Education Ministry, engaging\nin heated arguments and hurling stones and rotten eggs at each other.\nPrincipals, education directors and administrative officials were involved in\nthe melee. TV news\nshowed theteachers being shoved\nabout by the police as well. At least one person was injured in the clash. Most of those who opposed unionists\nprotesting against the promotions were assistant secretaries and directors of\nthe Ministry, said  the unions. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“On July\n04,2018  we conducted a one-day strike\nand we gave the government two weeks to reverse its decision, it is a decision  that will destroy the education system.\nHowever, almost three weeks have passed and they have done nothing, said the\nunions. As a result, 300,000 teachers and principals planned to strike on July\n26.  Thousands of teachers would gather\nopposite the Fort railway Station and march to the Presidential Secretariat on\nJuly 26 if the government remained intransigent.  They would \nhold a mass demonstration along with the strike. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We will be\nfollowing this up with a boycott of all national examinations, including the\nupcoming scholarship examinations in August, and the GCE Advanced Level exam. They\nwould not carry out their duties at school examinations either. The unions\nwrote to zonal and regional education directors, asking them to postpone term\ntests.  We know that this will\ninconvenience students but we are doing this to ensure that the education\nsector is not politicized. We can\u2019t allow people who are not  qualified to hold positions in the education\nadministrative service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

TRANSFERS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minister of Education  said \nthat the  teacher transfer policy\nof the Ministry stipulated that no teacher should be allowed to serve in a\nschool for more than five years. This had not \nbeen implemented for years. \u2018I \nhave decided to implement it \u2018, he said. The teachers transfer scheme\nwould be implemented, he   repeated.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were mass\ntransfers in January  2016\n and teacher transfers continued  in 2017.Teachers were transferred within the\nProvincial schools system and also from Provincial schools to National schools.\nThere\nwere about 12,000 teachers who had served more than ten years without being\ntransferred, said the Ministry.\nSome   have  been \nin the same school for 17-25 years, and have got awards for their\nperformances, Several of these teachers remain in the same school through\npolitical influences, and \u2018tend to become corrupt in their comfort zone\u2019. Of\nthese 12,000 teachers,  8,000 were\ntransferred in 2017, while around 2,050 remained, as they have no schools in\nclose proximity to be transferred to..<\/p>\n\n\n\n

there was strong opposition to teacher\ntransfers at Ananda College Colombo. students of senior classes staged a\nprotest within the school premises, against the Education Ministry\u2019s move to\ntransfer 40 teachers. Police were  rushed\nto Ananda. Police stood outside the school premises to face any emergency as\nstudents demonstrated, demanding the immediate cancellation of the transfers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ceylon\nTeachers Union  lodged a complaint with\nWestern Province Governor, in September 2017 \nagainst discrepancies in the posting of 453 newly appointed teachers to\nschools in the WP. WP has once again failed to post new recruits to schools\nwith a shortage of teachers,  the union\nsaid. Despite the shortage of teachers in the difficult zones, the new teachers\nare being sent to schools that already have sufficient teachers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 There are some schools that have a teacher\nfor every 18 students,\u201d the union said. Schools in Colombo North, Kolonnawa and\nMoratuwa areas are badly in need of teachers. in 2016 too,  they recalled, around 300 teachers were\nrecruited and posted to schools which had an excess of teachers. The transfers are made  according to recommendations by politicians. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Ceylon Teachers Union  also said that the transfers were not done\ncorrectly. Teacher transfers should be conducted according to the 2007\/20\nteacher transfer policy. This clearly states that such transfers should be handled\nby duly appointed Transfer Boards, along with representatives of Trade Unions.\nYahapalana  had instead given the task to\nSLEAS officers.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2018,\nMinistry of Education   decided on a new\ntransfer scheme for Principals of National Schools . Under this scheme, Grades\nI and II Principals will be transferred every 8 years instead of 10 years, and\nwill affect some 200 Principals of 352 NSs. Teachers in Advanced Level and\nOrdinary level classes were transferred \nunder the new program, while those teaching in Grades 6-11, numbering\naround 3,000  were to follow. In\ninstances where teachers have served for 10 years, but are a year or so away\nfrom retirement, they would be allowed to stay on till retirement. Four\nEducation Directors have been appointed to evaluate appeals from teachers with\ngrievances about their transfers.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Principals of\nsome National Schools  launched a\ncampaign against the scheme, claiming they were being sent to smaller schools.\nthe Ministry said it  was not a demotion\nfor the Principals in larger NSs, it was a method to utilize their services to\nimprove other schools as well. there may be Principals from smaller NSs who\ncould be effective in a large NS, and needs to gain relevant experience. If the\nscheme is not effected, they will miss out on an opportunity. Some Principals\nhave been serving in NSs for long periods, using political influence and\ntherefore, are reluctant to move away from where they are, said the\nMinistry.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All Ceylon\nTeachers Services Union  said the new\nprogramme is not being done in a proper manner. National and\nProvincial school teachers are being transferred haphazardly, bypassing\nprotocol set out in the National Transfer Policy (NTP), causing much\ndiscontentment among those transferred. Some of the\ntransfers have been done in violation of the Service Minute, with no room for\nappeal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to\nMinistry of Education Circular No. 2007\/20, there is a Transfer Board (TB)  to carry out transfers of teachers according\nto the National Transfer Policy. Teacher\ntransfer process should commence on May 31 of each year and end by November\n01.  the TB meets in May and collects\ndetails of all teachers serving more than 5 years in National and Provincial\nschools, applications are called from teachers for transfers in  June and July. Thereafter,\nthe TB meets and decides on those eligible for transfers. Then,  in September \nLetters of Transfer are posted. Appeals are entertained in October  and by November 1, Appeal Board decisions are\nposted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“However, neither the Ministry of\nEducation and nor the Provincial ministries of education have carried out this\nprocess. Instead, they are transferring teachers according to the whims and\nfancies of officials. This is an injustice to teachers who are awaiting\ntransfers.”  said Ceylon Teachers Union”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The unions added, there are 97 TBs in the 9\nProvinces, whose members are renewed each year. But unfortunately, he said the\nTB has not been formed for the last 8 years. The TB was abandoned in 2012 and\nsince then, transfers are effected according to the whims and fancies of\nofficials at the top . All transfers are now being done by officials at the\nZonal and Inter-Zonal levels without consideration to the NTP. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Teachers claimed\nthat the unlawful transfers by officials victimizes them, causing much hardship\nand inconvenience in their work life. Some teachers have been transferred to schools\n50 km to 60 km away, and into areas without residential facilities. One example is in the Ampara District, where\nthe distance between 2 schools is around 90 km. These transfers create\ndifficulties, due to the long distance they have to travel on a daily basis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are not\nagainst the transfer of teachers, but we want it done methodically and in a\nmanner they will not be traumatized.\u201d  On some interview Boards, there are\ncandidates contesting the forthcoming elections. Over 170 teachers with\npolitical connections had ignored an Education Ministry order  We have written to the Elections Commission\nof these issues, and will take legal action in this regard,\u201d  said the union <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Committee\ncomprising the Provincial Education Secretary and the Provincial Education\nDirectors was appointed to set up an exchange system enabling teachers to\nexchange their appointment, to a school located at a convenient distance from\ntheir homes. This is the first time an exchange programme among teachers has\nbeen put in place, said the Ministry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SALARIES.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ceylon\nTeachers Union  charged in 2017 that the\nWestern Province  Education Ministry has\nfailed to use up Rs 2,000 million allocated by the line ministry, to pay\narrears to teachers and principals in the 11 zones in the province. the new\nService Minute of Oct. 23, 2014, recommended that all teachers and principals\nget their due promotions in retrospectively from 2008, and the salary\nincrements arising from the promotions paid from 2011.Accordingly, the Ministry\nof Education  sent a sum of Rs 2,000\nmillion in 2015, to the WP Council to effect payment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Western\nProvince Education Ministry said his office received the money too early, even\nbefore the calculations were made on 37,000 teachers\u2019 and 15,000 principals\u2019\nfiles in the Provincial and National schools in the WP. As they were not ready\nwith the figures, they had to return the money sent to them. now that the\ncalculations have been done, they are now paying the promoted candidates. We\nare in the process of paying them and will soon pay all of them,\u201d he said.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

***<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ceylon\nTeachers Union said the 2018 Budget has been a disappointment, with no\nsolutions for the problems faced by Teachers and Principals in schools. He said\nthere has not been any mention of allocations to pay salary arrears of Teachers\nand Principals, in keeping with the new Sri Lanka Education Administrative\nService Minute. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

***<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2019\nbudget also makes no mention of salary increments. Over 240,000 teachers from\n6,000 schools were planning to go on a sick leave campaign starting\n13.3.2019  over the government\u2019s failure\nto address their salary anomalies which has been unchanged since 1997,\nunionists said.  They staged a\ndemonstration at Isurupaya demanding that their longstanding salary anomalies\nbe rectified. This was dispersed by the police, using tear gas and water\ncannon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\ngovernment should be ashamed of itself for creating conditions for  this incident, said the media. There has been\na serious lapse on the part of Education Minister and the top bureaucrats of\nhis ministry. They waited till the teachers\u2019 anger spilt over on to the\nstreets, without addressing the issues that made them see red. The irate\nteachers were left with no alternative but to launch a protest to have their\nvoice heard. the Ministry had, in reply  informed the Teacher Unions that it could not\nresolve the Teachers\u2019 and Principals\u2019 demands, and the matter would have to be\nresolved by the Treasury. ( continued) <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA\u00a0 PIERIS This essay looks at appointment, promotion, transfers and salaries of teachers and principals during Yahapalana rule. APPOINTMENTS In 2017 Education Minister gave 2,000 non-academic appointments at national schools across the country based on political influence without following a proper and transparent recruitment process, said critics. Most of these recruitments are from the Kurunegala […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[104],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-87277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kamalika-pieris"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87277"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87277\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}