TRANFERRED AT THE WHIMS AND FANCIES OF HIERARCHY

Secretary of Western Provincial Education Ministry says the two directors were transferred due to their inefficiency

Two directors, for Sinhala and Maths, from the Western Provincial Education Ministry were transferred as they failed to provide necessary gratifications to a close acquaintance of the Provincial Education Minister, the Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) said yesterday.

CTU Secretary Joseph Stalin said the transfers were enforced, despite two ongoing projects to increase examination results for both subjects.

“Both projects have a budget of Rs. 7 million. What is strange is that officials have been requested by the Minister to allocate Rs. 15,000 each month from the funds allocated for one project as payment to an employee on his private staff,” Stalin alleged.

Stalin further alleged that the two directors not following the above orders, had resulted in their transfer, despite being amidst important projects.

“They have been transferred to offices in Colombo. We have to make sure that such transfers do not take place in the future.”

The Union has submitted letters of protest to the Secretary of the Ministry of Provincial Education as well as the Zonal Education Office.

When contacted, the Secretary of the Western Province Education Ministry S. G Wijeybandu said the Minister had requested the officials be transferred as they did not contribute adequately to the two projects.

“As such they have been temporarily transferred to another office. There is some tension among the staff due to this. Therefore, we have scheduled a discussion for the coming week, for the staff and the Minister. We hope to resolve the issue completely at the time,” he said.

However, Chief Secretary of the Western Province Pradeep Yasarathna said the transfer had been halted on his orders.