No Pay Before National New Year

By Nirmala Kannangara

GCE (O/ L) exam paper evaluators are up in arms against the Examinations Department for its failure to make payments for the 2011 exam paper evaluations, General Secretary of the Ceylon Teacher Services Union Mahinda Jayasinghe said.
According to Jayasinghe, the Examinations Department has informed evaluators that the Treasury has not released money although the Treasury following this announcement confirmed that the necessary funds have been remitted to the Examinations Department.
“Twelve thousand teachers evaluated the GCE (O/L) examination papers in 2011. The total payable amount is Rs.150 million. Whom do we trust now?” Jayasinghe asked The Sunday Leader.
However Jayasinghe claimed that in the event the due payments are not made on or before April 23, the day government schools re-open for the second term, stern trade union action will be taken to hamper school work.
“It is close to one month since the GCE (O/L) results were released. But the relevant authorities’ failure to settle our dues before the Sinhala and Tamil New Year is disheartening,’ he said.
Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena was not available for a comment.