The Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education has issued a new circular revising the salary structure and promotion process for officers of the Sri Lanka Principals’ Service, addressing long-standing pay grievances that the principals’ service has raised over multiple budget cycles, Newswire reported.
The new Circular No. 03/2014 (I) was issued following Cabinet approval granted at its May 11 meeting and replaces Section 01 and related sub-sections of the previous Circular No. 03/2014. As an initial step towards resolving the salary issues, the ministry has approved calculating principals’ salaries by treating the initial steps as a promotion.
The amendment was introduced in line with provisions of the Establishments Code and is aimed at regularising the initial salary steps applicable to officers in the Sri Lanka Principals’ Service.
In a separate measure under the same circular, the ministry has introduced a special concession period to address practical difficulties encountered in the promotion process for officers recruited to Grade III of the Sri Lanka Principals’ Service on November 13, 2009. The decision was taken with the concurrence of the Public Service Commission and is intended to facilitate promotions up to Grade I while addressing administrative challenges that had built up over the years, the ministry said.
Under the concession, affected principals will be granted until December 31, 2027 to fulfil the qualifications and requirements necessary for promotions.
The principals’ service has been a recurring pressure point for the education ministry, with the Ceylon Teachers’ Service Union and principals’ associations previously calling for parity with other public-service grades that received pay revisions in successive budgets. The salary revision follows a broader education-sector staffing push — 163,433 graduates sat the first teacher recruitment exam in over three years on May 24, with over 31,000 appointments planned before year-end.
