By Saroj Pathirana BBC Sinhala service

	Pirivena is the oldest specialist Buddhist education establishment in Sri Lanka

The president of the All Island Pirivena Teachers Association (AIPTA) told BBC Sinhala service, Sandeshaya that they have been requesting a meeting with President Mahinda Rajapaksa for over two years.

“We have often received a response saying the President is busy and we will soon be informed of a suitable time for the meeting,” Kompitiye Suseela Thero said.

“But we are still waiting for that opportunity.”

Pelmadulle Dhammika thero, the general secretary of the AIPTA, meanwhile argues that the president seems to be meeting every section of the society, according to media reports.

Mega projects

Tens of thousands of young Buddhist monks, as well as lay students, study at over 720 Pirivenas, the oldest specialist Buddhist education establishment in Sri Lanka.

The government can easily sort these issues out at a time billions of rupees are being spent for mega development projects in Sri Lanka Kompitiye Suseela thero

There are many serious issues related to developing the Buddhist educational system that need immediate attention of the president, says the AIPTA.

The decades-old salary and allowance systems need to be upgraded and the facilities in many rural Pirivenas are not suitable for the next generation of monks to have a proper education, it says.

“The government can easily sort these issues out at a time billions of rupees are being spent for mega development projects in Sri Lanka,” said Kompitiye Suseela thero.

“We have had many meetings with the senior officials and the education minister,” Pelmadulle Dhammika thero said.

“We feel that it is only the President who has the power and energy to resolve these burning issues.”

BBC Sandeshaya could not get an official response from the Presidential Secretariat despite repeated attempts.