Permanency to Tamil volunteer teachers with AG's approval

[TamilNet, Friday, 11 April 2003, 17:00 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe Thursday directed the Minister of Human Resources Development, Education and Cultural Affairs, Dr.Karunasena Kodituwakku, to obtain the approval of the Attorney General before granting permanent appointment to one thousand Tamil medium volunteer teachers serving in the Northeast province, Tamil National Alliance sources said.

This decision was taken at a conference held Thursday with the Prime Minister in the chair and attended by Minister Kodituwakku, Cabinet Secretary, Treasury officials and education ministry officials. A delegation of the TNA, led by its parliamentary group leader, Mr.R.Sampanthan, and comprising parliamentarians Messrs Jospeh Pararajasingham, Mavai Senathirajah, Selvam Adaikalanathan, N.Raviraj, G.G.Gajendrakumar, A.Chandra Nehru and K.Thurairetnasingham participated at the discussion, the sources said.

The Prime Minister and the Education Minister at the conference accepted in policy to grant permanent appointment to one thousand Tamil volunteer teachers who have already been selected after interview and approved by the cabinets of the then People's Alliance government and the present United National Alliance government, the sources said.

However, the Prime Minister directed the Minister of Education to send all relevant documents to the Attorney General and obtain his approval before granting permanency to northeast volunteer teachers, the sources said.

Meanwhile, the sit-in-protest campaign by the Northeast Tamil medium volunteer teachers in front of the provincial ministry of education office in Trincomalee entered the thirty-ninth day Thursday. They launched their protest campaign on March 3, demanding permanency as approved by the cabinets of current and previous governments.