Funds for PPE delayed; A/L exam centre staff purchase items out of their own pockets
View(s):Last Week, the Ceylon Teachers Union (CTU) made a complaint to the Auditor General’s department, saying the funds dispersed to around 2640 A/L examination centres for the purchase of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) had not been released to the centres on time.
With four days remaining to complete the 2020 Advanced Level (A/L) exams the funds dispersed to school development society accounts of these exam centres have not been used, CTU Vice President Theeban Arokiyanathan said. The Sunday Times learned that many principals are involved with conducting the exams at the centres and are not available to withdraw the funds.
The CTU also said, for private exam centres the zonal Education directors had taken the initiative to purchase the necessary equipment. However officials including invigilators and administrators claimed they had spent their personal funds to buy PPE.
“They cannot get the money they spent, reimbursed,’ Mr. Arokiyanathan said.
Initially the Government had allocated only Rs.1000 for purchase of PPE items for each centre, for a period of 22 days.
But after education unions pointed out that the funds were not enough the Government decided to allocate Rs.15, 000 for each centre. Afterwards a sum of Rs.39 million was allocated for this purpose.
The Advanced Level (A/L) exams began on October 12 and will end next Friday (November 6). -CC