Illegal Actions Against Teachers in the North: Gajendrakumar
23-May-2026.
Tamil National People’s Front leader and MP Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam urged authorities to intervene immediately and uphold justice over alleged illegal actions by Northern Province education officials, the Northern Provincial Public Service Commission, and the Northern Province Governor, which he said were causing severe violations of fundamental rights affecting teachers and their families.
He made these remarks during the debate on regulations under the Import and Export (Control) Act in Parliament on 21 May.
He further stated:
“Under the guise of transfers based on service requirements, actions are being carried out in the Northern Province that seriously affect education. Without consultations with teacher unions or considering their input, 193 teachers were transferred in an undemocratic and authoritarian manner by Northern Province education authorities.
According to Section 188 of the Northern Provincial Public Service Establishments Code published through the Gazette dated 3 July 2013, every department with 25 or more transferable employees must establish one or more transfer boards.
Furthermore, the Extraordinary Gazette issued on 14 December 2022 clearly states that before transferring a public officer on urgent service grounds, the relevant appointing authority must be personally satisfied that such urgency genuinely exists and that the transfer cannot be postponed until the annual transfer cycle.
Ignoring annual transfer procedures and arbitrarily carrying out transfers under ‘service requirements’ amounts to abuse of power, illegality, and victimisation.
Affected teachers have filed cases in the Jaffna High Court and also sought intervention from the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka. In 2025, more than 25 transfers were suspended by the Northern Province Governor in violation of transfer board decisions.
Teachers serving in remote areas such as Delft and Vadamarachchi East have now been subjected to arbitrary transfers again in 2026 without convening transfer boards. In addition, many teachers granted annual transfers have still not been released by Northern Province education authorities.
Appeals made by affected teachers have allegedly been handled with political interference, discrimination, and vindictiveness by the Public Service Commission. As a result, the fundamental rights and even the right to livelihood of many teachers and their dependants have been severely affected.
Teachers currently teaching in English-medium streams are being transferred to schools where there is no such requirement, affecting not only teachers but also students.
Urgent intervention is required to prevent these grave violations of fundamental rights caused by the unlawful actions of Northern Province authorities,” he said. Bureaucracies. The only machines humans built that somehow become slower when more people operate them.
