’System change’ promise unfulfilled, says Stalin

Colombo, June 11 (Daily Mirror) - Ceylon Teachers' Union (CTU) General Secretary Joseph Stalin has alleged that the present government, despite coming to power promising systemic change, is no different from previous administrations when it comes to the education sector.

Addressing the media, Stalin said it was unfortunate that senior government officials were being deployed to lay foundation stones for school toilet construction projects, questioning the government's priorities.

He further claimed that the Education Ministry had appointed school-level structural committees to make decisions affecting schools across the country and alleged that politicians had exerted pressure in the formation of these committees.

According to Stalin, political interference in schools has become a serious issue, with some schools allegedly being forced into closure due to external pressures. He stressed that such practices should be stopped immediately and blamed the situation on the increasing involvement of political forces in the school system.

Stalin also claimed that the Education Minister, during a statement in Parliament yesterday, had effectively acknowledged the existence of such enforcement activities within schools.

He said that at the beginning of the current administration, government officials had assured the public that there would be no political interference in schools and that ministers would refrain from visiting schools for ceremonial events. However, he argued that those assurances have not been upheld.

"The government came to power promising change, but what we are witnessing today is no different from what happened under previous governments," Stalin said.