Conditional school admission for children of transferred doctors: AVK

Medical professionals seeking school placements for their children in areas they have been transferred to, will be required to fulfill two conditions to receive admission, said Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam.

He said the parents will have to prove the transfer has actually been put into effect and will be only allowed to request for a school in the area where the parent has been transferred to.

He said the decision has been taken after it was revealed that some of the Medical professionals had sought placements in government schools on the grounds that, they are due to be transferred or imply the transfer has taken place, while actually, the transfer has not taken place or later cancelled.

Minister Kariyawasam said that, in other cases they found that, though some of the doctors have been transferred outstation, they have requested for schools in main towns well away from the location of the transfer.

He said the doctors will obtain the benefit of the marks provided when parents are transferred, but cannot be granted special concessions.

A list compiled by the Ed.Min. regarding doctors' children seeking placements in government schools show that, in some cases, doctors transferred from Colombo to the outstations, have sought admission for their children in Colombo schools.

In some other cases, the parents had been transferred from one hospital within Colombo to another hospital in Colombo, while parents had applied under the same scheme to gain placement for their children in a Colombo school.

According to the Ed.Min., parents from other sectors too have made applications under the transfer category. They are Federation of University Teachers Association (105), Ed.Min. (297), Teachers (745), Judges (29), Dental Surgeons (22), Exams Dept (26) and other public sector employees (57).