Aimed at sustaining education through school closures
Set to commence 1 August
Teachers’ unions slam move
By Buddhika SamaraweeraIn view of sustaining the education of students through indoor activities during the closure of schools due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Cabinet of Ministers has granted approval to implement a programme through which the teachers’ performance would be supervised and regularised by teaching instructors, a decision which has since been met with opposition from teachers’ trade unions. A resolution furnished by Education Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris to implement the said programme named “Sustaining the Education of Children Across Indoor Activities”, was granted Cabinet approval at its meeting held on 5 July. The relevant programme will be implemented from 1 August 2021. In addition to the supervision and regulation of teachers’ performance, it is expected to standardise and consolidate activities with expected learning outputs for each grade level. Through the implementation of the programme, the Education Ministry has also planned to regularise and supervise the activities of students. In addition, teachers would maintain student performance reports by evaluating the students’ performance on a weekly basis and indoor learning activities would be implemented by principals and teachers with the support of parents and students. In order for the relevant programme’s implementation to be supervised and monitored, committees composed of senior officers will be appointed at the national, provincial, and zonal levels. “Measures have been taken such as E-thaksalawa, Guru Gedara, the YouTube channel of the National Institute of Education and other provincial as well as school-level online lessons to educate students. However, practical issues have arisen in covering all schools, maintaining common standards in teaching methodologies, ensuring the number of students who participate, and the evaluation of the learning performance. Therefore, it was decided to implement this programme,” the Cabinet media release noted. However, the teachers’ trade unions, namely the Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) and the Ceylon Teachers’ Services Union (CTSU) opposed the plans to supervise and regularise teachers’ performance, claiming that the Education Ministry has not taken steps to provide teachers with any input needed to carry out online education. When contacted by The Morning, CTSU Secretary Mahinda Jayasinghe claimed that the Education Ministry’s attempts to regularise and supervise teachers’ performance would be an unnecessary burden on teachers and place them under immense pressure. “We do not approve of this move in a context where the Ministry does not provide any facilities required for the teachers to teach online,” he said. CTU Secretary Joseph Stalin, when inquired about the matter, told The Morning: “We strongly oppose this move. The Education Ministry should first provide the teachers with the necessary resources and only then is it ethical for them to supervise teachers.”
