Will Law College get the most suitable Principal?

• we need a good administrator who can work closely with the students

By Nirmala Kannagara

Speculation is rife how political interference is to hamper the selection of the most suitable applicant for the post of Law College Principal, it is learnt.  

A new Principal is to be appointed today (July 7) and according to a former member of the Council of Legal Education, who wished to remain anonymous, few highly qualified Sri Lankan legal luminaries living overseas and here, have applied for the job and interviews have been held in mid-June, 2020. However, it is alleged that the vacancy is to be filled by one of the candidates but with less qualifications to hold the highly responsible post. “We all have high regard to his Lordship who is the Head of the Council of Legal Education, and the rest of the Council members including the Attorney General and two other Judges of the Supreme Court who will not make any error by appointing a Principal who is not suitable for this position and cannot work closely with the students.

As those who are in the legal field, we believe that none of the respected Council members can be influenced as we do not want a repetition of having Principals of the Law College of poor quality.One of the Principals appointed with the interference of a politician came under severe criticism for allowing a student to use a separate room at the law final examination a few years ago. Yet another Principal who did not have good administration policies was held hostage by the students for more than 24 hours. Hence we need a good administrator who can work closely with the students. We are keeping a close tab on the process and if members of the Council are forced to appoint a favoured candidate by these powerful politicians we are going to agitate for it,” a source said.