Teacher librarians are still waiting for the Education Ministry to rectify a cadre issue — and the delay, they say, has affected their career prospects. Little or nothing had happened so far although Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena had asked Ministry Secretary Gotabhaya Jayaratne to settle the issue, said Upali Amarasiri, National Institute of Library and [...]

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Teacher librarians still await cadre status; issue stuck in ministry

By Charundi Panagoda
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Teacher librarians are still waiting for the Education Ministry to rectify a cadre issue — and the delay, they say, has affected their career prospects.

Little or nothing had happened so far although Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena had asked Ministry Secretary Gotabhaya Jayaratne to settle the issue, said Upali Amarasiri, National Institute of Library and Information Sciences (NILIS) Director and former Sri Lanka Library Association President.

Jaffna school library: The issue of teacher librarians islandwide still in limbo. (file pic)

“School Library Development Unit (SLDU) officials told us they had taken up the issue with the secretary. I was told the delay is caused by an official being overseas,” he said.

SLDU Director Anura Jayalath de Silva said they had submitted the files to the Education Secretary to settle the issue. “The issue is now in the hands of the additional secretaries.”

SLDU Assistant Director P. K Vitanage said the Education Secretary had asked SLDU officials to discuss the issue with two additional secretaries.

“Additional Secretary S.M. Wijeratne is abroad right now; so we will start the discussions when he returns,” he said.
Ministry officials said Mr. Wijeratne was on an official trip overseas and would be returning tomorrow.
Teacher Librarian Union (TLU) Chief Niranjala Wikramathileka said the SLDU had not informed them about the new developments.

“We haven’t received any acknowledgements from SLDU officials,” she said. “We haven’t heard back from the Human Rights Commission regarding our complaint either, though it’s been more than three months now.”

The TLU filed a human rights complaint in 2011 citing “administrative anomalies” hindering their careers.
As the Sunday Times reported on July 29, the post of teacher librarian was created in terms of the Second General Education project funded by the World Bank to supervise School Libraries and Resource Centres (SLRCs). However, the ministry failed to include a cadre for teacher librarianship in the Teacher Services Minutes, therefore keeping the trained teacher librarians from pursuing careers same as regular teachers. Most teacher librarians have resorted to regular teaching, leaving many SLRCs either closed or improperly supervised.

In 2009, the Cabinet approved a new cadre for teacher librarianship. Action by the ministry was not immediate and the situation was complicated by a senior assistant secretary in the ministry presenting a letter from the Salaries and Cadre Commission denying a teacher librarian cadre, Mr. Amarasiri said.

This March, the Parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprise (COPE) recommended the matter be settled through the Education Minister.Education Secretary Jayaratne was not available for comment.




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