Is navel the education sector’s main concern: CTU

10 November 2015 08:09 am

The Ceylon Teachers Union today lashed out at Western Province Chief Minister Isura Devapriya over a statement he is alleged to have made that he would be issuing a dress code for lady teachers making it mandatory to wear their sarees above the navel.

According to the chief minister’s statement which was carried by the media, schoolgirls will not be allowed to wear their dancing costumes below the navel.

Scoffing at the CM’s statement, CTU President Joseph Stalin told Daily Mirror that it was up to the lady teachers to decide how to wear their sarees and not for the Chief Minister to dictate how it should be done.

“We condemn this statement. It is an anachronistic proposal.  We see nothing wrong with teachers wearing sarees below the belly button.  It may be that there is something wrong with Mr. Devapriya’s eye sight. We like to ask the Chief Minister whether the belly button is the main concern facing the education sector in the Western Province,” he said.

Meanwhile, Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam said his ministry was not taking any decision on this matter because there was no valid reason to lay down rules or regulations on how teachers’ should wear their sarees.

He said it was the responsibility of lady teachers to wear their clothes in a manner which was not an insult or a slur on their profession. (Piyumi Fonseka)