PM to chair Ministerial Committee to decide on school development officers

The Government has announced the formation of a ministerial committee, chaired by Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, to devise sustainable solutions to issues related to the recruitment of school development officers into the teaching service.

Cabinet Spokesman, Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa revealed this decision during the weekly Cabinet media briefing held yesterday at the Government Information Department.

He noted that over 15,800 development officers are currently engaged in teaching roles across both national and provincial schools.

The newly appointed committee will focus on identifying and analysing challenges faced by these officers in their teaching and administrative responsibilities and will propose long-term solutions. Cabinet approval has also been granted for the establishment of a supporting committee of officials, headed by the Prime Minister’s Secretary, to assist the ministerial committee.

Between 1994 and 2020, more than 150,000 graduates were employed as development officers and other related roles in the public sector through various recruitment schemes implemented by the central government and provincial councils. However, it was noted during the Cabinet meeting that these recruitment processes often lacked proper evaluation of candidates’ skills and professional qualifications.

Additionally, shortcomings such as insufficient induction programmes, inadequate in-service training, and unclear duty assignments have hampered the ability of these officers to meet expected performance standards.

The post PM to chair Ministerial Committee to decide on school development officers appeared first on DailyNews.