The Hon. Governor of the Northern Province, N. Vethanayahan, stated that once the Northern Province teacher transfer policy is received from and approved by the Provincial Public Service Commission, transfer activities for the coming year should be expedited.
The monthly progress review meeting of the Northern Province Ministry of Education, Cultural Affairs, Sports, and Youth Affairs was held today – on Wednesday (05 August 2026), at the Governor’s Secretariat under the chairmanship of the Hon. Governor.
At the meeting, it was noted that 1,411 development projects are currently being implemented with an allocation of Rs. 3,304 million across the province, of which 336 projects have now been completed. The individual progress of the Education, Cultural Affairs, and Sports Departments was reviewed in detail, and the Governor commended the Provincial Ministry of Education and its departments for showing progress in their activities compared to the previous year.
During the discussion, attention was given to the progress of the mobile service for updating teachers’ personal files and to issues that could not be resolved at the zonal level. The Secretary of the Provincial Ministry of Education stated that it would be considered to conduct such a mobile service again after the next three months. He further noted that the transfer policy for the Principals’ Service has been revised and submitted to the Provincial Public Service Commission, and that discussions with trade unions regarding the transfer policy for the Sri Lanka Education Administrative Service will be held again. The Governor instructed that once the new teacher transfer policy, approved by the Public Service Commission, is received, it should be approved immediately, and transfer applications should then be called for and processed accordingly.
At the meeting, the Governor firmly instructed the Zonal Directors of Education not to limit themselves to their routine duties but to think innovatively and undertake constructive initiatives for the educational development of their respective zones. It was also decided to collect details of teachers who are unable to teach in classrooms and refer them to a medical board for assessment.
Discussions were also held on implementing the school meals programme as a pilot project in collaboration with the Cooperative sector and on the lack of interest shown by schools in the online classes conducted by Jaffna Hindu College for Ordinary Level students. Appropriate instructions were issued on these matters. At the conclusion of the meeting, the Regional Director of Health Services, Jaffna, Dr. A. Ketheeswaran, participated and requested that steps be taken to fully ensure the operation of school canteens in accordance with the circular issued by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education.
Among those who attended the discussion were the Secretary to the Governor of the Northern Province, the Secretary of the Provincial Ministry of Education, Deputy Chief Secretaries (Administration, Planning, Finance, and Engineering Services), the Provincial Director of Education, the Assistant Director of the Department of Cultural Affairs, the Provincial Director of the Department of Buildings, Zonal Directors of Education, District Sports Officers, and many others.
