Probe launched against NUTU Kandy Vice President: Union

Kandy, January 26 (Daily Mirror) - The National United Teachers’ Union (NUTU) yesterday alleged that a disciplinary investigation has been initiated against its Vice President in Kandy for highlighting shortcomings in the ongoing education reforms.

NUTU Chief Secretary Ramith Wijesiri said the inquiry was launched following a comment made by the Vice President on a Facebook post that criticised the manner in which the reforms were being implemented by the Provincial Director of Education. He claimed the move amounts to a violation of the Vice President’s freedom of speech and expression.

“The disciplinary investigation has violated the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under Article 14(1) of the Constitution,” Wijesiri said, adding that the union is considering legal action in this regard.

Commenting on the reforms, he said education reforms cannot be implemented abruptly. “An education reform cannot be implemented all at once like a monkey census. It should be introduced through a pilot programme,” he said.

Wijesiri further claimed that teachers were given only a very short period of training to implement the new system, which had contributed to its failure.

He also alleged irregularities in the preparation of training modules, claiming that in addition to government-approved web links, external links had been included. According to the union, the new education reform process also lacked a proper draft and assessment mechanism.