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Teachers up in arms: Chief culprit in principal humiliation handed portfolio despite inquiry
Outraged teachers are demanding that controversial Chief Minister Chamara Sampath Dassanayake of the Uva Province be removed after he was reinstated by the outgoing Governor M P Jayasinghe as the provincial education minister while a court case and a human rights violation investigation are continuing.
Mr Jayasinghe said a one-person inquiry had cleared Mr Dassanayake who had been accused of humiliating the female principal of the Badulla Tamil Girls Maha Vidyalaya. The school was set up in 1916 as a Catholic mixed institution and taken over by the government in 1963.
Mr Dassanayake, a member of the SLFP, was forced to resign in January over the incident that generated public anger over his alleged behaviour, and dismay over the arrogance of “yahapalanaya,’’ lawmakers.
Mr Dissanayake was accused of lambasting the female principal after summoning her to his official residence and asking her to kneel before him as atonement for disrespecting an order to admit a student.
At a January media briefing, when asked by a reporter, Mr Dassanayake admitted summoning the principal to his official residence. He said the principal was called up by him, the Uva Province education secretary G.A.M.S.P. Ambanwala, and the regional director.
R. Bawani, the principal, had declined to admit a student to the school on a directive by Mr Dassanayake. She was seen in a January TV news report saying that the letter presented by one “Mr Hussein’’ had been signed by Mr Dassanayake’s private secretary. She explained in Tamil and partly in Sinhala, in the presence of UNP lawmaker Vadivel Suresh, that she declined because admissions had closed by then. She also claimed that Mr Dissanayake had threatened to transfer her to a “difficult’’ posting.
The public and teachers have questioned whether admission to a school in the politician’s letter is lawful.
Following public outrage at his behaviour and agitation by students, teachers and principals countrywide, Mr Dassanayake was asked to resign by the governor of the Uva Province, M P Jayasinghe.
But before Mr Jayasinghe moved on from his role last week in a reshuffle, he had re-instated Mr Dassanayake.
Mr Jayasinghe explained that he was compelled to do so because Mr Dassanayake had been cleared of wrongdoing in an investigation by the governor’s office. “Nothing serious was found,’ Mr Jayasinghe said.
He admits being aware of the case in the Badulla Magistrate’s Court and the inquiry by the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission.
Mr Jayasinghe said Mr Dassanayake had done a good job while in office as the education minister, and it was only right that he should be given back the job. Also, he recalled that there were no objections from the provincial councilors when he was re-instated.
Mr Jayasinghe conceded that the incident was unfortunate, but maintained he never received any complaint from the aggrieved party. “Nevertheless I ordered an investigation, and appointed a one-man committee [a retired public servant] to look into the matter. The report I received cleared the CM of any wrongdoing,’’ he said.
Mr Dassanayake’s previous track record the governor claimed, was impeccable.
Further, Mr Jasyasinghe said that he was unable to efficiently run the education ministry, which was entrusted to him following the incident.
“I could not manage the additional work, so I consulted higher officials in the education ministry and gave him back the ministry,’’ he said.
No other provincial minister had been considered, because, he believes not much will get done. “The chief minister will not give his support for carrying out efficiently, the work of the ministry,’’ he said. “The work at the ministry will suffer.’’
There are five ministers in the provincial council including the chief minister. Uva Province, Provincial Councilor (PC) Senthil Arumugam said that principal M/s Bawani need not fear hostility from CM Dassanayake as the school administration comes under him.
He explained that the education ministry was divided into two sections, one in control of the Sinhala schools and the other in charge of Tamil schools. As such, he said the Tamil Badulla girls school comes under his purview.
He said that until such time as the Badulla MC gives its verdict the teacher will be safe under his ministry.
The Ceylon Teachers Union (CTU) condemned the governor’s decision and also said that it would influence the outcomes of investigations by the Human Rights Commission and the case in Badulla.
CTU General Secretary Joseph Stalin said that the union has written to President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe denouncing the decision of Mr Jayasinghe and demanded that he be removed.
Referring to PC Senthil Arumugam’s claim that because of the division created in the ministry the teacher was safe from acrimony from CM Dassanayake, he said that although the ministry is divided it is functioning under one secretary, Ambanwala and that its policies will not change.