By Dhaneshi Yatawara, IANS
Colombo : Sri Lanka’s new school admission policy has been delayed over fears that it might lead to a head-on collision between the legislature and the judiciary.
While Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva has instructed the education secretary to formulate a new policy for school admissions taking into consideration the guidelines issued by the courts, parliament believes the new policy need not be amended because the courts cannot dictate the legislature.
When opposition leader Ranil Wickremasinghe said the Supreme Court has powers only to interpret constitutional clauses and provisions and it cannot overrule a decision taken by parliament, Education Minister Susil Premajayantha said he in principle accepted that position.
Chief Justice Silva then made a sarcastic remark while chairing the Supreme Court bench that one doesn’t need to be intelligent to get elected to parliament but it needs intelligence to have education.
Parliament Speaker W.J.M. Lokubandara made remarks implicitly critical of the Supreme Court. Parliament was debating the Supreme Court guidelines on school admissions.
The three-member bench headed by the chief justice was considering a petition filed in the Supreme Court by an official of Ananda College here that claims the new circular issued by the education ministry for Grade I admissions amounts to insulting the judiciary.
The ministry’s secretary, Ariyarathna Hewage, as the main respondent, appeared before the court in response to summons. The court ordered the secretary to formulate a new circular, incorporating the guidelines issued by the same court.
The Supreme Court recommended the exclusion of awarding points on the basis of parents’ education levels and professions, but noted that interview boards could choose to do otherwise.
The chief justice also ordered the education ministry secretary to compulsorily incorporate its guidelines in the new selection criteria.
Chief Justice Silva has been at the centre of controversies since his appointment a decade ago.
Wickremasinghe’s conservative United National Party (UNP) got together with an unlikely ally, the radical Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), in a bid to impeach the chief justice once but failed to muster sufficient votes.
A newspaper editor filed a case against Silva that he was not suitable for the post, alleging that he had abused powers as attorney general on several occasions.
Victor Ivan, editor of Ravaya weekend, also wrote to the International Court of Justice against the chief justice.
In July, the chief justice made another controversial remark that all Sri Lankan institutions including the executive had deteriorated in quality and the only institution standing with integrity was the judiciary.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who belongs to the Sri Lankan Freedom Party (SLFP), and Speaker Lokubandara (UNP), however, want to avoid a confrontation with the judiciary.
“Do you want a situation similar to that of Pakistan?” Rajapaksa asked an Indian correspondent when the latter queried if the president could overrule the Supreme Court decision to undo the merger of Tamil-majority north and east.
Indications are that the president and parliament would find an acceptable school admission formula and continue the uneasy relationship with Silva – until he drops another bombshell.