News
73 officials on foreign jaunt at public expense
Southern Province Governor Kumari Balasuriya has called for explanations from 73 regional education officials after they defied an earlier order and went on a foreign junket at public expense, it was revealed yesterday. Highly-placed officials at the Governor’s office said the group that included teachers and other education officials both male and female had gone to Malaysia and Singapore on January 7 and returned on Wednesday (January 22).
They said the trip had cost about Rs. 20 million that had been drawn from the Provincial Council Development Fund and the trip had angered the Governor since her ordered had been defied. The initial plan was to send a dozen schoolchildren who fared well at the recent Grade Five Scholarship and Advanced Level Examinations on a fun tour of Singapore and Malaysia but this was abruptly stopped by Ms. Balasuriya when it was revealed that some 138 education officials had also forced their way in to the trip.
The education officials who went on the tour included even typists and other clerical hands attached to the education sector of the Southern Province.
The officials said that when urgent funds were needed for the development of the schools and the education system in the Province, responsible officials were wasting public funds on fun trips.
They said the Southern Province Education Minister Chandima Rasaputra had apparently been misled when he sanctioned the trip. The Governor will consult Minister Rasaputra before taking action against the 73 errant officials but most of them are to be transferred out of the province soon. The Governor has given time till the end of this month for the errant officials to come up with their explanations, the officials said.