Education Ministry challenges PSC order

The Education Ministry has strongly challenged the Public Service Commission (PSC) order to reinstate the two Principals of Ananda College, Colombo and Kingswood College, Kandy with immediate effect and to pay their salaries etc. for the period that they were out of service.

These two Principals were interdicted by the Secretary, Ministry of Education, following a report filed by the Presidential Investigating Unit which inquired malpractice or irregularities relating to Grade I admissions for 2005. The two Principals were later reinstated with immediate effect on the PSC direction. Education Ministry Secretary Dr. Tara de Mel, in a letter to the Public Service Commission Chairman last Friday detailed the circumstances under which the interdiction of the two Principals took place.

Dr. de Mel, while appreciating the promptness with which the Secretary, PSC has acted in this instance, reminded the PSC of its failure to respond to a Ministry charge sheet forwarded to the PSC for approval, as far back as February 10, 2005, based on an Education Ministry Internal Audit Report against Ranjith Chandrasekera, Principal of Kingswood College, Kandy.

According to audit investigations, Chandrasekera was alleged to have committed a serious financial irregularity amounting to Rs. 65,640,229 collected from students in respect of an agreement with a private company to conduct computer classes.

This was while the college computer unit was dormant, she pointed out. Similarly, Dr. de Mel charged the PSC for showing no response to her report against R.A. Premaratne, former Principal of Dharmapala Vidyalaya, Pannipitiya on charges of submitting fraudulent certificates and malpractice on admission of children submitted to the PSC as far back as August 6, 2004.

Further, Dr. Tara de Mel's letter to the PSC pointed out that the refusal of covering approval to the interdiction of the two Principals under question is in direct contrast to earlier cases where covering approval was granted by the Commission for interdiction of Principals of Maliyadeva Balika Vidyalaya, Kurunegala and Vice Principal of Prince of Wales College, Moratuwa.

These two interdictions were made following an inquiry by the same Presidential Investigating Unit, which is made use of for such purposes because the Ministry of Education does not have an Investigating Unit of its own. Incidentally, the President was the Minister of Education, Dr. de Mel, reminds the PSC Chairman.

Justifying the course of action she followed as absolutely in conformity with the procedure laid down in the Establishment Code Dr. de Mel quoted the relevant sections in the Establishment Code and attached a request by the CID seeking the interdiction of the two Principals and urged the Public Service Commission to reconsider its earlier decision and grant covering approval to the interdiction of Abeyratne and Chandrasekera, the Principals of Ananda College, Colombo and Kingswood College, Kandy.