Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya today rejected claims that teachers would not receive their salaries this month, while also announcing steps to further streamline the process of appointing school principals.
Speaking in Parliament, the prime minister said a statement made by an opposition MP on Aug. 19 claiming that teachers would not receive their salaries this month was “completely false.”
“There is no issue regarding the payment of teachers’ salaries. They will receive their salaries as scheduled and on time,” Amarasuriya said.
Meanwhile, responding to a question raised by MP Ruwan Wijeweera on whether factors other than basic educational qualifications are considered when appointing school principals, the prime minister said the existing appointment process would be reviewed.
She said the appointment of principals had not been carried out systematically for a long period and that the government planned to hold discussions with the Public Service Commission to review the existing mechanism and introduce necessary changes.
Amarasuriya said that under the human resources management pillar of the government’s education reforms, the existing system and relevant circulars were being reviewed.
She said the government agreed that the selection of principals should not be based solely on academic qualifications and that other performance-related criteria should also be considered.
The prime minister said the Education Ministry was already conducting several training programs to improve the capacity of school principals.
She added that the government planned to introduce a more structured capacity-building program and strengthen relevant institutions through the National Institute of Education in 2027. (Newswire)
