Colombo: Teachers in Schools managed by the Sri Lankan government withdrew from online teaching on Monday to protest the detention of union leaders and others in quarantine centers under the law of pandemic.
The school in Sri Lanka remains closed because the pandemic and Coronavirus lessons are carried out online.
Eleven educational workers said in a statement that three union leaders and many were illegally detained in quarantine centers after being arrested in the protest last week.
They said the leaders and other protesters were encouraged in the vehicle and were taken away to quarantine centers when they walked out of the courtroom after being released with a guarantee.
Priyantha Fernando from UNI Teacher Ceylon said 242,000 teachers and 16,000 school principles joined the strike action Monday.
Fernando said trade union leaders had protested the proposed law they said would lead to the university’s privatization and militarization.
Also squeezed is a salary dispute that has not been resolved for more than 23 years, he said.
The Sri Lankan Bar Association, the main professional body for lawyers, wrote to the police chief who expressed concern that the right to peace protests was violated using health guidelines, while the guidelines themselves did not prohibit indoor or outdoor protests.
It also wrote to the Director General of Health Services that asked him not to let the health guidelines be misused to peaceful protesters.
The Minister of Law and the command of Sarath Weerasekara told parliament that the protesters violated regulations and the police would continue to capture violators in the future.
There are 4.3 million students registered in school but many cannot join online lessons because they do not have access to electronic devices or internet services.