Appointments for 226 graduate teachers

Shirley WIJESINGHE

Two hundred and twenty six newly recruited Graduate teachers in the Western Province received their letters of appointment from WPC Chief Minister Prasanna Ranatunga yesterday.

The recruitment was purely based on the results of the competitive examinations held by the Department of Examinations in 2008.

Chief Minister Prasanna Ranatunga urged appointees not to try to be marketeers in the education sector who made use of opportunities to make extra money but play the role of moulders of character of children to become leaders of the future generation.

He strongly criticized recent controversies led by certain student unions that made the false allegation that these appointments would have only been possible through a bribe of Rs. 100,000 given to political authorities.

The appointments have been made by following official procedures. The selection of candidates has been done on the highest marks obtained at the examination, Ranatunga said.

Going behind politicians to get appointments is not the right thing for graduates to do. The parents of graduates have made great efforts and dedication to bring them to this level. They should not play second fiddle to any one at any level, he said.

Commenting on the recent incident reported about the so-called fasting campaign launched under the direction of Opposition-backed student's unions in the High Security zone, he said that they were trying to carry their political ambitions through their activities.