Volunteer teachers picket demanding permanent appointment

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 March 2003, 19:02 GMT]
More than two hundred volunteer teachers from Batticaloa and Amparai districts Monday launched a picketing campaign in front of the office of the North East Provincial Ministry of Education in Trincomalee demanding that they should be made permanent immediately as given assurance earlier, sources said.

The Peoples Alliance (PA) government in 2000 agreed to give permanent appointments to one thousand volunteer teachers to ease the shortage of teachers in the northeast. Volunteer teacher sources said that the new government is now dragging its feet without fulfilling the promise, sources said.

The picketers blocked the main entrance of the offices of the provincial education ministry and the Provincial Director of Education.T he police rushed to the scene as the employees of the ministry could not enter the ministry office. Police immediately ordered the picketers to leave the area. As the response from picketers was negative, the Headquarters Police Inspector ordered his men to forcibly remove the picketers from the place, sources said.

The police took one volunteer teacher for questioning when they refused to remove the blockade in front of the education ministry office, sources said. Later volunteer teachers dispersed from the main entrance of the ministry office and started their picketing on the other side of the road, sources said.

Around noon Monday a delegation of the Ampara-Batticaloa Volunteer Teachers Union met the provincial secretary for NE Ministry of Education Mr.R.Thiagalingam and placed their demand. Provincial Secretary told the delegation that he had briefed his counterpart in Colombo about the plight of volunteer teachers in northeast.

A representative of the volunteer teachers told media persons later that their agitation would continue till they received permanent appointment.

In the evening Trincomalee district parliamentarian Mr.R.Sampanthan and National List parliamentarian Mr.K.Thurairetnasingham visited the scene where volunteer teachers picket. Later Mr.Sampanthan said he would take up this matter with the Prime Minister shortly to find a solution, sources said.