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“Grave dearth” of translators: Ministry seeks graduates to fill vacancies
A severe shortage of translators in the public sector–“much worse than before”–has prompted the Public Administration Ministry to advertise for graduates to create a pool.
Calling it a “grave dearth,” the Ministry has issued a circular mandating the recruitment of graduates who have studied translation methods and linguistic studies to the translators’ service on contract until they can be absorbed through a new service minute.
Priority should be given to hire Sinhala/Tamil translators who are “a dire necessity” at the moment, it said. But the services of pool translators must be obtained only when it is difficult to obtain the service of permanent translators and when translator posts have fallen vacant.
Where there are no vacancies for translators, heads of institutions are instructed to get approval from the Management Services Department to create new posts so they can be taken on a contract basis, depending on the requirement.
“The shortage of translators was there for a long time but now it is more than before,” said Public Administration Ministry Secretary J. J. Rathnasiri.
“Many translators had left as the salaries were not enough, while new people are also not joining,” he said.
Public documents are often delayed owing to translation delays. These include annual reports and other paperwork. The quality of translation has also been called into question. The new circular requires those obtaining the service of translators under the prescribed system to report every quarter to the Public Administration Secretary, regarding the quality of work.
The circular sets salaries at Rs. 1000 for a service of eight hours when obtained on a daily basis; and Rs. 30,000 monthly where service is taken on contract. But Mr Rathnasiri said income could be enhanced by handing out assignments or paying “piece rates.”
The Ministry also hoped to draw graduates from the Kelaniya University where a degree for translators was recently upgraded to an honours programme allowing students to specialise in the subject.