Conspiry afoot to make parents pay school electricity bills: Stalin

19 December 2023 10:18 pm Views - 829

Colombo, Dec.19 (Daily Mirror) - Electricity supply to 22 schools, including five national schools, in the Zonal Education Division of the Matara district, has not been paid, Ceylon Teachers' Union (CTU) general secretary Joseph Stalin said.

He told the Daily Mirror that though the electricity bills of schools should be paid by the relevant Zonal Education Division, the Matara Zonal Education Division has not paid the bills due to lack of funds.

"We see this as some kind of conspiracy by the government to make the parents pay the school electricity bills. The third term school holiday will be given this Friday (22). With these power cuts, all school activities will get delayed," Stalin said.

The Power and Energy Ministry began disconnecting the electricity to households & institutions at the villege level which had not paid their electricity bills. Minister Kanchana Wijesekera started this programme from his own village.

The electricity supply of 800,000 consumers who did not settle their electricity bills has already been disconnected.

Therefore, the government should take immediate action to provide electricity. If not, trade union action will be launched from Matara to pay the electricity bills, Stalin said.