Principals won’t be appointed in ad hoc manner: Prime Minister

School administration had been severely affected by the irregular appointment of acting principals under previous governments, Parliament was told on Wednesday.

Responding to questions raised by the Opposition during the ‘Ask the PM’ session, Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya said the current government had decided to implement a standardised policy and procedure for appointing principals across all schools.

Prime Minister Amarasuriya said the previous government had made the process of appointing school principals chaotic.

“Without a proper procedure, acting principals were appointed. This left the school administration system in disarray. We are now following a proper process in line with existing regulations, to rectify the situation. Principals are appointed to all national schools and vacancies are filled in a proper manner.

The Prime Minister also addressed concerns related to the Gampaha Wickramarachchi Institute of Indigenous Medicine.

“Several issues were identified based on written and verbal complaints received from various parties. An expert committee has been appointed to conduct a formal and analytical investigation. Discussions were held with both academic staff and students, and several key concerns emerged during the initial meetings,” she said, adding that the Gampaha Wickramarachchi Institute of Indigenous Medicine had been upgraded to university status without basic facilities.

“New faculties and degree programmes were introduced without adequate human resources or infrastructure. Moreover, beyond its core focus on indigenous medicine, programs in technology, social sciences, and management were established,” the Prime Minister said.

She said that a formal committee had been appointed to investigate the matter and prepare a report with recommendations for appropriate action.