The Ministry of Education, Higher Education, and Vocational Education stated that it is not appropriate to draw premature conclusions about the proposed Education Council, in the wake of criticism from the Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU).

Speaking to The Daily Morning, Ministry Secretary, Nalaka Kaluwewa said: “The Education Council has not been established yet. We have only appointed a committee to study the matter, and it is still taking the necessary steps to set up the council. No one can say what will or will not happen before it is actually established. It is not good to come to premature conclusions.”

The remarks came after the CTU claimed that the Government’s move to set up an Education Council was aimed at diverting attention from the long-standing teacher-principal salary anomalies.

CTU President Priyantha Fernando told The Daily Morning recently that although the Government presents the council as a mechanism to improve working conditions in the education sector, including for tuition teachers, the union sees it as a deliberate attempt to suppress teachers’ demands. He noted that the Education Council will include all education sector professionals, and claimed that teachers’ issues would not be addressed through such a mechanism.

The first meeting of the Ministerial Committee appointed to establish the Education Council was also held recently. The committee was formed in line with the Government’s Policy Statement, with the stated objective of improving the overall quality of education. 

The meeting was attended by the Education, Higher Education, and Vocational Education Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, Deputy Minister Dr. Madhura Senevirathna, and Parliamentary Sub-Committee on the Establishment of the Education Council Chairperson Mahinda Jayasinghe.