Teachers’ union welcomes removal of Keheliya’s name from Wattegama school

Colombo, October 16 (Daily Mirror) - The Ceylon Teachers' Union (CTU) appreciated the measures taken by the Central Province Governor to remove former Minister Keheliya Rambukwella's name from a school in the Wattegama Education Zone, Kandy.

Addressing the media, CTU General Secretary Joseph Stalin said that according to a circular issued by the Education Ministry, there is no justification for naming schools after politicians who are still alive.

He claimed that there is another school in Teldeniya named by Sarath Ekanayake and that should also have its name changed. The Governor has already issued instructions to remove the name of that school as well.

“Schools may have been named after living persons, including politicians, at the request of old pupils’ associations and development committees in the past. Therefore, there is no need to name any school after a living person, whether they are a politician or someone else,” Stalin added.

Stalin said that their union recently pointed out that a primary school in Kundasale had been named after former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, in violation of a 1996 circular issued by the Education Ministry, which prohibits naming schools after persons who are alive.

Even though such a policy exists, many schools have been named after living politicians in recent years. Stalin argued that it is inappropriate to name a school after Rambukwella, who was arrested and is in remand custody over the controversial human intravenous immunoglobulin deal. The CTU demanded that his name be removed from the school.

“Rambukwella has set a bad example to society and he has been imprisoned. Therefore, it is not acceptable to name a school after him,” Stalin said.

Demands have also been made on social media to revise the names of schools and laboratories that have been named after former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. During Rajapaksa’s tenure, with Bandula Gunawardana as Education Minister, a chain of schools was named after Rajapaksa.

Stalin further demanded that the Rajapaksa name be removed as well. He thanked the government for the measures taken to improve the education system, and he also expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya for stopping the practice of inviting politicians to school events.