Education Minister Susil Premajayantha has written to all Chief Ministers instructing them to take stern action against all officers who have acted with irresponsibility and negligence in preparing the question papers for the term tests in schools.

He said the main reason for this issue was that the officers who were at the top were not suitable to hold such positions.

"Though last year the Education Ministry conducted a pilot project for the school term tests, the Provincial Educational authorities had failed to learn anything. In the previous years no problems arose where the question papers of the school term tests were concerned," he said.

The Education Ministry has decided to prepare the question papers for the core subjects of the third term tests in the schools, the Minister said.

"When I was Western Province Chief Minister I saw to it that there were no problems where the term tests were concerned," he said.