Four council members of premier education body fired
Professors receive letters, with no formal explanation for removal, signed by Education Ministry secretary
At least four members on the Council of the National Institute of Education (NIE) have received letters informing them of their removal from the council, the Sunday Times learns. Prof. Jayadewa Uyangoda, Prof. W.D.W. Jayathilaka, Prof. D.S. Epitawatta and Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri are the recipients of these letters that have no formal explanation for their removal.
It is learnt that Prof. Epitawatta had tendered his resignation from the council much earlier, but he too received a letter informing him of his removal.
Dr. Dewasiri told the Sunday Times that he had received a letter dated July 13 signed by the Education Ministry secretary, W.M. Bandusena. The letter said that the secretary was writing on the instructions of the Education Minister.
He added he was ‘not surprised’ by the move as they had been raising uncomfortable questions regarding the ‘sorry state of affairs’ at the NIE. Dr. Dewasiri however, refused to speculate on who may have wanted him and the other council members removed.
The institute is the premier body responsible for providing leadership for the country’s general education system. It is also tasked with designing and developing curricula for teacher education.
“I would not be exaggerating if I said that the NIE was responsible for 75 percent of the functioning of the education in Sri Lanka. But it is now being run according to the vested interests of a few persons inside the institution. The bottom line is that these people are doing everything other than what they are required to do which is to enhance the education system in Sri Lanka,” he quipped.
The former Director General of the NIE was removed last year following differences between him and the council members. Though a new DG has now been in office for over six months, not a single council meeting has been held for this year so far, it is learnt.
About two months ago, Dr. Dewasiri revealed that Dr. Uyangoda and he wrote a lengthy letter to the Prime Minister and the Education Minister explaining in detail the current state of the NIE and outlining their proposals to rectify the situation. They had received a covering letter along with a copy of their letter stating that it was being forwarded to the Secretary to the Ministry of Education for his information. “Thereafter, we received no communication whatsoever regarding the issues we raised," Dr. Dewasiri said.
Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) General Secretary Joseph Stalin condemned the move and said the members were probably removed because the authorities simply wanted ‘yesmen’ who would not speak up against injustice and corruption. He said the CTU would write to President Maithripala Sirisena to register their protest regarding these removal letters.
Repeated attempts to contact the Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam proved futile.