Teachers’ Union Warns of Protest if Outstation Teachers Are Not Allowed to Assume Duties

The Sri Lanka Teachers’ Union has warned that it will launch a protest and lay siege to the Northern Province Governor’s Secretariat if teachers transferred from other districts through the annual transfer board are not allowed to officially assume duties at their assigned schools.

Speaking on the matter, the union’s Vice President Deepan Thileesan said that the political “game” allegedly being played by the Northern Province Governor to create divisions among Northern teachers has now been challenged by the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka.

He stated that the Commission’s temporary suspension order has become a strong response to both the Governor and senior Northern education officials who, under the guise of “service requirements,” had allegedly carried out politically motivated teacher transfers.

According to him, the Governor’s statement that teachers arriving from outside districts would only be released if transfers based on “service needs” were implemented has created unnecessary conflict among teachers.

More than 300 teachers from other districts are expected to report under the annual transfer scheme, while around 193 teachers were included in the controversial “service requirement” transfers.

Thileesan argued that if the Governor had acted fairly, the disputed 193 transfers alone should have been suspended while allowing the remaining teachers to report for duty. Instead, he alleged that political subservience and weak leadership have continued to damage the Northern education system.

He also pointed out that during a recent development coordination committee meeting, former MP Selvarajah Kajendren had requested that the transfers be halted, describing them as wrong.

In addition, ruling party MP Rajeevan had also reportedly highlighted the Governor’s actions as a mistake, yet the Governor had failed to correct the issue.

As a result, the union brought the affected teachers before the Jaffna regional office of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka and filed complaints alleging violations of their fundamental rights.

The Commission, recognizing the legitimacy of the complaint, has stated that the transfers were problematic and issued an interim order temporarily suspending them.

The union further alleged that while the Provincial Director of Education should be the proper authority to handle teacher transfers, the Education Ministry Secretary and the Governor have been interfering improperly and preventing due process.

With school holidays ending soon, the union insisted that teachers approved by the transfer board from outside districts must be allowed to report to their assigned schools when the new term begins.

If authorities fail to allow them to assume duties, disciplinary action should be taken against the responsible officials, Thileesan said. Otherwise, the Sri Lanka Teachers’ Union will seek legal redress through the courts.

He added that the union is awaiting the outcome of the Human Rights Commission’s inquiry into the recent “service requirement” transfers.

Once the investigation is completed, all preparations are underway to file a fundamental rights case in the Supreme Court against the senior officials involved.

He finally called on the Northern Province Governor to resign, warning that if he fails to do so, the union will expose further alleged irregularities and launch a major trade union struggle against him in the coming period.

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