The members of the Sri Lanka Teachers Association and the Northern Province Acting Principals Association met the Honorable Governor of the Northern Province P.S.M. Charles separately and submitted their demands regarding issues such as the shortage of teachers in the Northern Province, non-grant of transfers, appointment of principals, etc. On this occasion, Northern Province Education Secretary Petrik Niranjan also attended the meeting. These meetings took place this morning (15.12.2023) at the official residence of the Honorable Governor of Northern Province in Jaffna.
The Acting Principals Association of Northern Province informed the Honorable Governor that due to the appointment of the new principal’s, those who have served the duties so far have been affected and that they have made massive efforts to build the school community during the difficult period. Appointment letters for the competitively selected principals have been issued and they will assume their duties next week. They said that the principals who have been responsible for many years are suffering psychologically and socially due to this. In this case, the Acting Principals’ Association of the Northern Province also demanded that steps be taken to appoint themselves to the principal vacancies in other provinces.
After hearing the issues, the Honorable Governor of the Northern Province said that she would consider the requests and bring the issues to the attention of the President if necessary.
Meanwhile, the members of the Sri Lanka Teachers’ Association informed the Honorable Governor that there is a shortage of teachers for high quality classes in the Northern Province and there is a problem with the transfer of some teachers. Also, the members of the Sri Lanka Teachers’ Association raised questions about the measures taken in relation to the dangerous buildings found in the schools, Nutrition program for students, the appointment of volunteer teachers, etc.
Northern Province Education Secretary Partik Niranjan said that data is being collected regarding dangerous buildings found in schools and a few buildings have been sealed. He said that apart from the teachers of the higher classes in the province, the number of other teachers is seen to be excessive and as per the recommendation of the honorable governor, the transfer policy is being implemented.
The Honorable Governor said that there is no need for any discrimination in the transfer of teachers and the transfer policy should be fully implemented. The Honorable Governor of the Northern Province, P.S.M. Charles announced, has directed the Provincial Education Secretary to inform the educational authorities about this matter and to take action against the officials who do not implement the instructions.
He also said that the proposal of nutrition scheme for students has been submitted to the Ministry of Education of central government and once the approval is received, those schemes will be implemented. Also, the Honorable Governor of Northern Province said Some problems remain unresolved for a long time and steps are being taken to resolve them soon.
