The Hon. Mahinda Jayasinghe - Deputy Minister of Labour

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, I am very pleased that you, a university professor, are presiding. I too served as a teacher, and as a trade union activist and leader. Today I join the debate on the Expenditure Head of the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education.

¶ 02 Before and after coming to power, we of the National People’s Power (NPP) have consistently said education is our top priority—first, second, and third. That is why, in our first Budget, we allocated Rs. 619 billion for education—the largest ever.

¶ 03 Parents’ greatest hope is to give their children a better education than they had, and they sacrifice much for it. As a government, we keep education at the forefront.

¶ 04 On sector issues raised today: This year’s Budget addresses filling 7,913 teacher vacancies. There are legal-process-related issues affecting appointments of graduate Development Officers engaged in schools. As of now, there are 1,610 Principal vacancies. The Ministry is acting to recruit, based on numbers as at 31 January. There are 1,334 vacancies in the Education Administrative Service; 422 appointments have been sent to the Public Service Commission for approval. A limited competitive exam connected to this has dragged on for over four years. We are now fast-tracking long-delayed recruitments. In the Sri Lanka Teacher Educators’ Service, there are 1,310 vacancies; approvals have been received today from the PSC to recruit 706, from a gazette of 17 February 2020 and an exam held on 25 April 2021. Almost four years passed without action, but our government is completing these recruitments swiftly.

¶ 05 On National Schools: A noise was made by simply putting “National School” on signboards—676 or so—without providing facilities. The Ministry currently directly administers only 22 National Schools under Standing Order 50; others remain under Provincial Councils. Making hundreds of schools “National” by name achieves nothing. What we must do is treat all schools equally.

¶ 06 A major topic is the two-thirds salary anomaly of teachers and principals. Many MPs spoke of it. Some attacked me with untruths. I have explained this at length on television and media. I fear many who speak of this do not understand it. The anomaly originated in January 1997 with the B. C. Perera Salary Commission. Over 27 years, 8 years were under today’s SJB leaders (then UNP), and 19 under SLFP-led governments. None solved it. In 2021, after a 120-day struggle, we won part of a remedy as unions. This is the so-called two-thirds anomaly.

¶ 07 On current pay increases: For a Grade 3-II (A/L qualified) teacher, the basic pay has been raised from Rs. 31,490 to Rs. 53,060. For a Grade 1 teacher, from Rs. 56,770 to Rs. 98,580. For Principals, Grade II from Rs. 42,175 to Rs. 72,280; Grade I from Rs. 58,345 to Rs. 103,740. For the Sri Lanka Teacher Educators’ Service, from Rs. 41,385 to Rs. 72,280; and for Grade 1 Teacher Advisors, from Rs. 53,520 to Rs. 86,370. We demanded Rs. 47,615 for Grade 2-II, but this Budget gives Rs. 66,880—Rs. 19,265 more than demanded. For Grade 2-I, from Rs. 62,595 to Rs. 81,780 (+Rs. 19,185). For Grade 1 teachers, we asked Rs. 76,175; the Budget gives Rs. 98,580 (+Rs. 22,405). We have not claimed this resolves the anomaly; we said the monetary value given exceeds demands, but the anomaly remains to be addressed.

¶ 08 Hon. Presiding Member, this is our NPP policy platform, now approved by Cabinet as national policy—“A Prosperous Country – A Beautiful Life.” Page 106 states we will swiftly remove salary anomalies of teachers and principals, establish a Teachers’ Council, and elevate teaching to among the top 10 paid professions. How will we solve it? The Teachers’ Service Constitution was established in 1994, bringing it to an all-island service pay, with conditions: competitive exams, required service periods, etc., to move up. Only once was a promotion exam held to move to Grade I, with about 800–1,500 qualifying. No government since—UNP/SJB or SLFP-led—advanced these conditions, and instead, via Cabinet decisions, promoted without conditions, distorting the structure.

¶ 09 Our duty is to correct 30 years of errors. We are setting up an Education Council. The Cabinet Paper has been signed by the Prime Minister; within two weeks it will be approved. Like the Sri Lanka Medical Council’s registration for doctors, we need a framework to uphold quality in teaching. Through the Council, we will enhance teacher quality and then, proportionately, resolve the remaining salary anomaly within this year.

¶ 10 On the day of this debate on the Education Ministry’s Expenditure Head, we accept responsibility to rebuild a system long driven to ruin. Teachers have a major role. In the recent Co-operative Education Society elections for 384 representatives, our NPP-aligned teachers’ unions won 370 seats. The remaining answers will be delivered at the forthcoming local government elections. Thank you.