Chemistry teacher Thameera apologizes for insulting Martin Wickramasinghe

A series of video clips containing a controversial statement made by a tuition teacher, disrespecting the great Sinhala author Martin Wickramasinghe, has created a significant buzz on social media these days. It has been revealed that this teacher, Thameera Herath Jayasinghe, who teaches Chemistry under the pseudonym 'Chegura', made this statement during an online class.

In the relevant video, this teacher referred to Martin Wickramasinghe as a "fool" and stated to the students that they do not enjoy reading works like 'Gamperaliya', and that he does not understand why Wickramasinghe is called a great author. He emphasized that he sees no specialty in Wickramasinghe beyond what is taught in school textbooks or by teachers, and that students write those facts for exam requirements but gain no enjoyment from them.

Furthermore, this teacher, who also heavily criticized the inclusion of Sinhala literature in the syllabus, proceeded to distort a poem from the Salalihini Sandeshaya in the video, using vulgar words and singing it. 

"Who is that fool Martin Wickramasinghe who wrote 'Gamperaliya'? Do you really like reading Gamperaliya, man? Even if he's called a great author, what's his specialty? I don't understand. They make him out to be a big deal in school textbooks or the way teachers taught, but I think that's how much of a lie it is. We study these for exams, but what kind of nonsense is this? How can a person who writes in a way that makes you not even want to read a book be a 'great author'? To me, Sinhala literature and its objectives are just 'bullshit'. I still ponder about that today.

And look at the Salalihini Sandeshaya. I don't know what its first poem is. But one day I heard a substitute (absurd) poem made for it. As far as I remember, it goes something like 'The night came... she came... to the bedside...'. Aren't those the kinds of things we used to say with fondness when we were young?"

As this incident spread across social media, many expressed their strong disgust and protest regarding it.

Due to the strong public backlash he faced, the teacher publicly apologized for the incident yesterday (20) by connecting live on Facebook. He explained that an example used to clarify a subject matter during a closed class, which was only for paying students, was edited into a TikTok video and circulated in this manner.

However, he admitted that since he made the statement, he takes responsibility for it, and that unnecessary and worthless words were uttered by him at that moment. He further stated that he too regrets the statement and apologizes to all parties who were distressed by it, adding that he will act responsibly to prevent such mistakes from happening again in the future.

Watch the video related to this incident ›