Teachers and principals of Sri Lankan government schools across the country to withdraw from the online education program for students from July 12 in protest of illegal detention of union leaders including Joseph Stalin. Meanwhile Director Catholic schools Rev. Fr Gamunu Dias says that Catholic Private schools not hold online classes today and joined the teachers protest as they stand for the rights of education in the country.
The teachers’ union leaders said the decision to launch the trade union action was taken based on several demands including the illegal detention of teachers’ union leaders, the privatization of education and the elimination of teacher-principal salary anomalies.
Accordingly, teachers and principals will stop teaching online from 6 am on July 12th, the teachers’ union leaders said.
Fourteen trade unions including the Ceylon Teachers Union, the Ceylon Teachers’ Service Union, All Ceylon United Teachers Union, and the Principals’ Service Union are participating in this trade union action.
The Ceylon Teachers Service Union (CTSU) last Monday (July 05) organized a protest in front of the Ministry of Education (Isurupaya) in Battaramulla to demand the government to withdraw the General Sir John Kotelawala National Defense University Bill (KNDU Bill), which is seen as an attempt to bring the higher education system under military control.
The police arrested the peaceful protesters including the General Secretary of the Ceylon Teachers Union Joseph Stalin and other union leaders under the pretext of violating quarantine laws and following their release on bail quarantined them at the Mullaitivu Quarantine Center.