News

Minister warns any band-aid solutions will lead to much bigger crisis

Published

4 years ago

2021/08/5

Sahan Weerasooriya

GL appeals to teachers not to look at issues through politics

By Saman Indrajith

Education Minister Prof G.L. Peiris queried in Parliament yesterday how the teachers would justify their absence from schools affecting 4,063,000 children amidst a grave crisis.

The Minister raised the question while responding to several issues raised by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa on teachers’ salary anomalies and subsequent trade union actions.

Prof Peiris said that the government had made a policy decision to solve the teachers’ salary anomalies within three months. The solution would be included in the annual budget proposals. It would solve the salary problem of teachers once and for all in a just and fair manner. There was no way to make an arbitrary decision on the matter as demanded by the Opposition Leader, the Minister said.

Minister Prof Peiris said that the incumbent opposition leader as a former Cabinet minister should be aware that a problem of that magnitude could only be solved in the annual budget proposals without offering band-aid solutions paving the way for further anomalies in salary structures of other public services.

The minister said that the government continued to pay the salaries of teachers and other public servants without any deductions although some private sector companies had cut down the salaries of their workers by around 40 per cent on account of the pandemic. “How can the teachers justify their union action of demanding salary hikes at a time when the economy is reeling from the shock of the pandemic? Who are they trying to avenge by their actions,” the Minister queried.

Minister Prof Peiris said that the government had accepted the fact that there was a salary anomaly issue in the teaching profession as per the findings of reports of the committees that had looked into the matter. Similarly, the government in principle agreed that the teachers should be paid a better salary. But when you view the issue from a macro-perspective it could be seen that there were other public services and their salary structures should not be affected by any solution offered to the salary anomaly issue in the teacher service, the minister said.

The Supreme Court had made a ruling to convert the teaching profession into a closed-service and the government too would be abiding by that decision, the minister said.

Prof. Peiris pointed out that as per the requirements of the time there was a need for continuing the online education and the best place for teachers to conduct online sessions was in the schools with internet and other infrastructure facilities. As per the latest statistics, 84 percent of teachers had been given the first dose of the anti-COVID19 vaccine and the schools would be open only after all teachers and non- academic staff members were vaccinated against the virus, the minister said.

Minister Peiris said that he, as a minister who had been benefited by the education system of this country, wanted to solve the issue. He said that he obtained his first degree from a local university and had been a teacher for more than 26 year and was well aware of the problems prevailing in the education sector and that it was his wish to solve those problems prevailing there.

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Govt. extends ban on LTTE

Published

4 hours ago

2026/01/13

Sahan Weerasooriya

The NPP government has issued a new extraordinary gazette renewing and extending Sri Lanka’s long-standing ban on the LTTE and several Tamil diaspora organisations and individuals, continuing to designate them as “terrorists”.

The gazette, published recently, replaces a previous gazette issued in May 2025 and reaffirmed the proscription of a wide range of Tamil political and advocacy bodies operating around the world, alongside dozens of named individuals. The government alleged both the organisations and individuals listed are involved in “terrorism-related activities”.

The organisations blacklisted by the Sri Lankan government include:

• Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)

• Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO)

• Tamil Coordinating Committee (TCC)

• World Tamil Movement (WTM)

• Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE)

• World Tamil Relief Fund (WTRF)

• National Council of Canadian Tamils (NCCT)

• Tamil Youth Organisation (TYO)

While the majority of the designations mirror those contained in the May 2025 gazette, the latest document updates identification details and addresses for a number of individuals and introduces at least one additional organisation to the list. All entries have been reissued under new reference numbers for 2026, though the underlying allegations and framing remain unchanged.

Successive governemnts have maintained a sweeping proscription regime against Tamil diaspora groups and individuals. A ban can make it a criminal offence for Sri Lankan citizens to maintain contact with these organisations or their members, severely restricting political engagement and stifling links between the diaspora and the Tamil homeland.

The original mass listings were introduced in 2014 under the administration of Mahinda Rajapaksa. Despite repeated outcry, subsequent governments have continued to uphold and renew the proscription regime, even after the Rajapaksas were voted out of power.

News

Police obtain court order banning Wimal’s protest

Published

4 hours ago

2026/01/13

Sahan Weerasooriya

National Freedom Front (NFF) leader Wimal Weerawansa addresses a gathering outside the Education Ministry on Monday before launching a protest demanding the immediate resignation of Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya as Education Minister over the inclusion of a link to an adult content website in the Grade 06 English module. (Pic by Thushara Atapattu)

Police yesterday (12) obtained an injunction order from the Kaduwela Magistrate’s court against the protest launched by National Freedom Front (NFF) leader and former Minister Wimal Weerawansa opposite the Education Ministry, Isurupaya, at Battaramulla.

Police informed Weerawansa of the court order. In line with the court order, the police informed Weerawansa that the road near the Ministry should not be obstructed and that no sound amplification equipment be used while the GCE Advanced Level (A/L) examination is in progress. The examination, put off due to Cyclone Ditwah, recommenced yesterday.

News

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi expresses optimism that Sri Lanka is on the right path to progres

Published

4 hours ago

2026/01/13

Sahan Weerasooriya

FM Herath with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Vijitha Herath held productive discussions with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi today (12/01), during the latter’s brief visit to Sri Lanka.

The meeting aimed at further strengthening bilateral engagement and advancing the Strategic Cooperative Partnership between the two countries. Both Ministers reaffirmed the longstanding friendship and time-tested cooperation between Sri Lanka and China rooted in centuries of exchanges and consolidated since the establishment of diplomatic relations seven decades ago. The discussion also focused on enhancing partnership in the areas of trade, investment, development cooperation and tourism.

Minister Herath extended deep appreciation to the Government and the people of China for the steadfast support extended to Sri Lanka following cyclone Ditwah and requested further support for the second phase of resettlement, relocation and rebuilding, particularly for the restoration of affected infrastructure including identified roads, railways and bridges that are vital to connectivity, economic recovery and daily lives of people. Minister Wang assured China’s fullest support for this initiative and expressed confidence that Sri Lanka will continue its rapid recovery under the leadership of President Anura Kumara Disanayaka. He also welcomed the people-centric policies of the Government and expressed optimism that Sri Lanka is on the right path toward fulfilling aspirations of its people.

Minister Herath expressed appreciation for China’s constructive role in international fora and reiterated Sri Lanka’s firm commitment to the One China Policy and China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Both Ministers also recalled the successful high level exchanges in the recent past, including visits of the President and the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka to China in 2025.