10th Parliament· 154 sittings on record · 30,475 speeches · latest 10 June 2026

The Hon. (Dr.) Harini Amarasuriya - Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education

Jathika Jana balawegaya· Colombo· 6 May 2026 ·Procedural: Questions under Standing Order 27(2) and Points of Order

EducationCorruption & Governance Reform
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The Prime Minister stated that the Ministry needs time to inquire at provincial level into allegations of political interference in granting permanent appointments to volunteer teachers, as it currently lacks such information. She said Cabinet approval in 2007 allowed only up to 4,700 volunteer teachers to be appointed as teacher assistants under a 2006 Cabinet Memorandum, and provinces were informed that no further appointments should be made. She added that the Ministry has not recruited volunteer teachers after 4 January 2007.

Verbatim record (translated)

Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English

¶ 01 Further, we need some time to inquire at provincial level on certain matters. We do not have information at the Ministry on alleged political interference in granting permanent appointments to volunteer teachers.

¶ 02 Also, not possible.

¶ 03 Regarding appointing volunteer teachers in various provinces as teacher assistants, Cabinet Memorandum No. 2006/ED/1/139 dated 2006.11.28 and the Cabinet Decision dated 2007.01.04 granted approval subject to a cap of 4,700 volunteer teachers to be appointed as teacher assistants. It was informed that no additional volunteer teachers should be appointed beyond this number. All provinces were notified, and after 2007.01.04, this Ministry has not recruited volunteer teachers.

Provenance

Source
Hansard, Wednesday, 6 May 2026 ·No. 23541 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. (Dr.) Harini Amarasuriya - Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 6 May 2026. No. 23541. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/5497