• 800 to be appointed in coming weeks

More than 1,500 graduates are slated to be recruited as teachers for schools within the Sabaragamuwa Province over the course of this year (2024), it is learnt.

This, following an urgent need to fill vacancies in the sector which was highlighted by a recent report that indicated that there were a staggering 4,600 teacher vacancies across 1,080 schools in the Province.

In response to inquiries about the issue, Sabaragamuwa Province Governor Navin Dissanayake, conveyed to The Daily Morning that examinations pertinent to the recruitment of 800 teachers for schools in the Province have already been conducted. He said that the selected candidates will be appointed as teachers in the coming weeks.

He also noted that approximately 800 teachers currently serving in schools spanning Ratnapura and Kegalle Districts are anticipated to retire by year-end. Consequently, he said that plans are underway to recruit an additional 800 teachers to the Provincial Teaching Service in the ensuing months.

As a solution to the shortage of teachers that exists in all parts of the country, the teachers' trade unions such as the Ceylon Teachers' Union (CTU) have proposed the recruitment of the graduates who have been recruited as Development Officers, as teachers. Despite several requests made, the TUs charged that the Government is ignoring the matter, alleging it (Government) is exploiting the labour of Development Officers by paying them a low salary.