According to the Tamil daily Thinakkural, Northern Province's Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran complained that in Vavuniya, Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu districts, the army’s Civil Defense Unit is running 344 primary schools, employing 689 Tamil women as teachers at good salaries. As per the constitution, school education is a devolved subject and schools in the province are to be run by the provincial Ministry of Education.

The number of teachers in the army-run primary schools is the same as the number of teachers working in the provincial council-run primary schools, the Chief Minister pointed out in his interaction with the EU headed by Jean Lambert MEP last Saturday. He also said that in the schools run by the army, teachers are made to wear a uniform which has raised concerns among the people as to whether they are being recruited to the army. He also said that in the schools run by the army, teachers are made to wear a uniform which has raised concerns among the people as to whether they are being recruited to the army.

Further he is strongly opposed to the suggestion made  by former President Chandrika Kumaratunga, that Tamil women employees of the provincial administration be posted in police stations to deal with cases involving women.