President says would declare Education as essential service

President Ranil Wickremesinghe today said he would not allow the education of children to be taken hostage  by teachers and education would be made an essential service under emergency law if teachers refuse to return to paper-marking by next week.

“No one is going to halt the education of children. That can’t be allowed,” he emphasized, issuing an alert to the teacher community involved in paper marking while addressing the progress review meeting of the Ministry of Education at the Presidential Secretariat this morning (April 19).

The President said he is keeping in view of making education, especially examinations, a compulsory service or to also establish an examinations committee for the General Certificate of Education (GCE).

The President’s discourse with education officials was geared towards the predominant issue with respect to the delay in paper marking of the 2022 G.C.E. Advanced Level Examination owing to teachers and university lecturers deciding to back off from the prescribed services. 

In this event of the present scenario, the President further advised the officials present to enquire from the Minister of Education as to whether the university lecturers are willing to correct the papers duly or not.