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Legal action against school admission cheats
By Nilika Kasturisinghe
The Education Ministry has initiated take legal action against more than 60 parents and officials involved in alleged forgery of documents in seeking Grade 1 school admissions, a Ministry spokesman said.

The children who have already been admitted to schools will not be removed, on humanitarian grounds, but the CID has been called in to investigate alleged malpractices committed by parents and officials in creating false documentation proving chief occupancy in houses located close to schools in order to qualify under the area rule.

The spokesman said the Commissioner of Appeals had received 420 appeals, 300 of which were not worthy of consideration as no injustice had been done. Of the remaining 120, about 60 are objections regarding the use of false documents, he said.

Officials such as grama niladharis connected with preparing these documents will also be dealt with under the penal code. Forty percent of those selected for admission to a national school are selected on the area rule determining the chief occupancy of residences located in close proximity to schools. Commissioner of Appeals, A.M.R.B. Amarakoon, told The Sunday Times, "If the document proving occupancy is false then the other related documents such as utility bills, electoral lists etc., must also be false".

Last year appeals were entertained from those who were not selected in the first round. Parents were asked to file appeals with the principal of the school, and only those who submitted such appeals and were rejected could appeal again.
The Commissioner of Appeals has recommended to the Education Ministry Secretary, that in 2004, documents pertaining to all school admissions proving chief occupancy of houses be checked to ensure their authenticity.

The post of Commissioner of Appeals has been created for the first time with a view to primarily safeguarding the rights of over 200,000 officers in the education sector, including approximately 193,000 teachers.

Problems of teachers in the Teacher Service, Sri Lanka Education Administrative Service (SLEAS), Pirivena service, Principal Service and Teacher Educator Service will be looked into by the Commissioner.

In the event that any circular, rules or regulations have been violated, causing an injustice, action will be taken to protect the interests of the official concerned.

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