Secretary of the Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) Joseph Stalin says the government will have to suspend Circular 5/2015 to effectively stop schools from collecting money.
Addressing the media, Stalin said that the suspension of Circular 5/2015 is essential to implement this decision.
“This circular states that the total expense of the school must be divided by the number of students and collected from them. This is why amounts ranging from Rs. 11,000 to Rs. 8000 are collected from secondary schools, and amounts from Rs. 3000 are collected in primary schools. Parents cannot handle such expenses under the current circumstances,” he said.
Stalin further said that schools were collecting money for painting at present, which he pointed out was the duty of the government.
He pointed out that only a new circular explicitly prohibiting all forms of such collections would ensure compliance.
Stalin also stated that the attempts will fail if legal action is not initiated against those found violating the new circular.
His comments come after Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya recently announced in Parliament that this year, there was no need to collect money from parents in any way.
“If you are collecting money, stop it immediately. The Education Ministry Secretary has already issued an order not to collect money in schools,” she added. (Newswire)