"The Gampaha Wickramarachchi Institute of Indigenous Medicine has been upgraded to a university without even basic facilities."
Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated that a standard policy and procedure is followed when appointing principals to all schools.
The Prime Minister made these remarks yesterday (09) in Parliament, responding to a question raised by the opposition regarding an issue that had arisen at Bandaranayake College in Gampaha.
The Prime Minister further stated:
The past Government has turned the process of appointing principals for schools into a problematic matter. Without a proper procedure, acting principals were appointed, leading to prolonged unfairness for both the teachers and the schools leaving the school administration system to a problematic state. Currently a proper procedure is followed in correcting the system according to existing regulations. Principals are being appointed to all national schools and vacancies through interviews conducted in line with qualifications required for the position. We do not treat schools differently, every school is governed under the same policy and procedure. The principal appointment at Bandaranayake College, Gampaha, was also carried out according to this standard procedure.
A number of issues had been identified based on written and verbal complaints made by various parties regarding the Gampaha Wickramarachchi Institute of Indigenous Medicine. Consequently, an expert committee has been appointed to examine the matter in a formal and analytical manner. Discussions were held with both the academic staff and students, and several key issues had been identified through the initial discussions.
Notably, the Gampaha Wickramarachchi Institute of Indigenous Medicine was upgraded to university without even the most basic facilities. New faculties and degree programs have been launched without adequate human resources or infrastructure. Further, beyond the core objectives of indigenous medicine, programs such as technology, social sciences, and management have been introduced without sufficient facilities. The Prime Minister stated that a formal committee has been appointed to investigate these matters and prepare a report to recommend the necessary actions.
Prime Minister’s media Division