TRAINEES CAUGHT RAGGING JUNIORS TO BE SACKED

The Education Ministry had taken a decision to expel teacher trainees who are found guilty of subjecting new comers to ragging at the National Colleges of Education, Minister Bandula Gunawardane said yesterday.

Education Minister Gunawardane told Daily Mirror that students with the second best Z-scores at the Advanced Level Examination were admitted to the National Colleges of Education to be trained as teachers.

“Students with the highest marks are admitted to the university system. Those with the second best results are admitted as teacher trainees to the National Colleges of Education. Unlike university students, these teachers have job security. They are absorbed into the per manent cadre after their training pro- grammes and are required to guide school children in the right direction. How can they be exemplary by being cruel to their junior batches at the colleges?” he asked.

The Minister said that such teacher trainees were only suspended from their studentship earlier as a punishment for harassing juniors in the guise of ragging. “Now, we have decided to expel such errant teacher

trainees. Otherwise, we cannot instill discipline into the system. The circular announcing such stringent punishments will be released soon. I have instructed my secretary to work on it,” he said.

The Minister said that numerous cases of inhumane for ms of ragging were reported from the National Colleges of Education in recent times.