Gazette notification accommodates CTTU demands

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 January 2004, 16:33 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Education agreed to issue an amended gazette notification accommodating some of the demands made by the Ceylon Tamil Teachers’ Union regarding the recruitment of 1000 GCE (Advanced Level) qualified Tamil medium teachers to northeast Tamil medium schools in the eight districts of the province, CTTU general secretary Mr.T.Mahasivam said Thursday.

The Additional Secretary of the Education Ministry informed Mr.T.Mahasivam that an amended gazette notification would be issued immediately extending the closing date of application for the recruitment till January 23, holding the competitive examinations in all eight districts of the northeast province in addition to Colombo and calling for application from GCE (A/L) qualified persons to all ten subject areas as recommended by the northeast provincial education ministry.

The Education Ministry earlier issued a gazette notification calling for application from GCE (advanced level) qualified persons for the post of Tamil medium teachers in the northeast schools for four subject areas, primary education, English language, Science and Mathematics. However the education ministry had left out six subject areas, Music/Dance, Art, Physical Education, Marine Fisheries, Agricultural Science and Home Science inspite of recommendation by the provincial education ministry that teacher vacancies exist in the ten subject areas.

Furthermore the education ministry has informed through the earlier gazette notification that the examination for the recruitment of Tamil medium teachers for the northeast province would only be held in Colombo and not in the northeast province districts.

The CTTU in a memorandum protested against the conditions laid in the earlier gazette notifications as unjust and demanded the Education Ministry to call for application for the ten subject areas and to hold the competitive written examination in the eight districts of northeast province instead of asking the applicants to come to Colombo.

CTTU also requested the education ministry to increase the maximum age limit for the applicants from 30 to 45 as the said recruitment is to take place after three years since the then government sanctioned it in the year 2000.