News
Schools likely to reopen without teachers if …
by Saman Indrajith
Teachers and principals will not report for work when schools reopen on 21 Oct., if the government fails to come up with a solution, by that date, teacher unionists say.
General Secretary of the JVP-led Ceylon Teachers’ Service Union, Mahinda Jayasinghe said that the Teachers’ and Principals’ Trade Union Alliance had decided not to report for work on 21 Oct., if the issue of teacher-principal salary anomalies could not be resolved before the reopening of schools.
Jayasinghe said that the government should take action to rectify the salary anomalies affecting teachers and principals before reopening schools. It should take a decision in this regard within the next 10 days. “If not, our unions will have to take tougher action when schools reopen on Oct 21,” he said.
Secretary of the Ceylon Teachers’ Union, Joseph Stalin, said that the principals of the schools with fewer than 200 students had been summoned for a discussion by the Education Ministry on Friday (8) but they had boycotted it. The Secretary of Education and all provincial directors of education had been informed in writing that such meetings would be boycotted, Stalin said, adding that as of yesterday 91 days had elapsed since the launch of the teacher-principal trade union struggle.
President of the All Ceylon United Teachers’ Union Ven. Yalwela Pannasekara Thera said that the teachers and principals had decided to launch a continuous strike if the schools were reopened while the teachers’ and principals’ salary issues remained unresolved.
Education Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said that the salary anomalies prevailing in the teacher service would be resolved by Budget 2022 to be presented on 12 Nov. “The government has decided to increase the salaries of teachers and principals in several phases. “All arrangements had been made to reopen schools starting from Oct 21. The teachers and principals should support the resumption of the school education system. We have information that a large number of teachers are waiting to report to work. Some teacher unions too have agreed to commence schools on the basis of the government’s promise to solve the salary issue of teachers in the Budget 2022. It is only a few union leaders who are against this move. A vast majority of teachers want to get back to school and help students with their studies. There must not be any action to sabotage this effort, especially when the government has been sensitive to their woes and accepted that they have genuine grievances that need to be rectified. Action has been taken. We have given them our word. All we need is time to deliver upon our promises.”
A specialists committee has been appointed by the Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation adhering to the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers dated 29.12.2025 for submitting appropriate recommendations analyzing the provisions of the draft bill formulation in regard to Animal Welfare.
Based on the recommendations of the said Committee, the Legal Draftsman has been instructed at the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers held on 18.05.2026 to prepare the final bill on the animal welfare.
Wherefore, the Legal Draftsman has formulated the draft bill and the clearance of the Attorney General has been received in the connection.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the resolution furnished by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation to publish the said draft bill in the
Government Gazette Notification and subsequently forward the same to the Parliament for its concurrence.
Under the legal provisions for elections in this country since 2004, it is mandatory for voters who come to mark their votes to verify their identity through a valid identity card, and it is also mandatory for all such voters to be marked with an appropriate mark using indelible ink. The dual purpose of these two functions is to prevent a voter from voting more than once in a single election.
It has been observed that having to follow two different
methods at the same time to achieve the same objective hinders the efficiency of the duties performed at the polling stations and also incurs additional costs to the government.
Therefore, it has been deemed appropriate to remove the legal provisions regarding the use of indelible ink and marking the voter with the appropriate mark from all election acts.
Accordingly, the development activities of the province, as well as national security, will benefit. Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the
President to take necessary steps to remove the legal provisions
• Section 36 of the presidential Election Act, No 15 of 1981
• Section 38 of the Parliamentary Election Act, No 01 of 1981
• Section 36 of the Provincial Council Election Act, No 02 of 1988
• Section 53 A of the Local Government Elections Ordinance (262 Authority)
• Section 21 of the Referendum Act No 7 of 1981
News
Showers will occur in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts
WEATHER FORECAST FOR 24 JUNE 2026
Issued at 05.30 a.m. on 24 June 2026 by the Department of Meteorology
Several spells of showers will occur in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts. Showers or thundershowers may occur at a few places in the Uva province and in Ampara and Batticaloa districts after 2.00 p.m.
Fairly strong winds about (30-40) kmph can be expectedat times over the Western slopes of the central hills, the Northern, North-central, North-western and Southern provinces and in Trincomalee district.
The general public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damage caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.
Munoz sends Colombia into World Cup knockouts with 1-0 win over DR Congo
Animal Welfare Draft Bill to be Gazetted
Legal provisions on marking voters using indelible ink during elections removed
Showers will occur in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts
Court vacancy row throws Parliament into turmoil; sittings disrupted
Climate, pollution, forest loss now hitting economy: BASL chief
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
Sunday Island 27 December – Headlines
#SundayIsland 17th December – Headlines
Sunday Island – 28th March
Sunday Island Headlines – 21 March
Sunday Island – 21st February – Headlines
-
News6 days agoCreditor receives USD 2.5 mn as Lankan public bears loss from theft of Treasury funds
-
News5 days agoCreditor not yet paid
-
News5 days agoConsumers bearing 22% tax burden despite 18% VAT claim: Dr. Harsha de Silva
-
Opinion7 days agoBeyond diagnosis: A strategic design for 7% growth by 2029 (Part I)
-
Features4 days agoNanda Pethiyagoda Wanasundara as three generations of family saw her
-
Opinion6 days agoSriLankan Airbus struck by lightning
-
Features3 days agoSri Lanka developing independent hydrographic capabilities
-
Latest News3 days agoSooryavanshi thumps fastest List A fifty as India A win tri-series