Some school activities are already affected due to ongoing fuel-related difficulties, the Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) President Priyantha Fernando said, warning the situation could disrupt both teachers’ and students’ school attendance if urgent solutions are not introduced.
Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (16), he said many teachers depend on private transport, particularly motorcycles, to travel to school, and the amount of fuel currently available to them is not sufficient for their weekly travel needs. “Most teachers use motorcycles to get to school. Some have to travel 40 to 50 kilometres (kms) a day. The amount of fuel available is simply not enough for them to make these trips for five days a week,” he said.
He added the situation has begun to affect school operations, with some principals and teachers applying for leave as they have to spend a significant amount of time trying to procure fuel.
Fernando said the issue is particularly affecting teachers engaged in marking General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level (O/L) Examination question papers, which is currently underway. "Many of these teachers have to travel nearly 100 kms a day to reach marking centres. This has a direct impact on them. At the same time, the fuel supplied to public transport is also not sufficient. This will affect both teachers' and students' attendance. The Government must provide solutions to these issues."
The Daily Morning attempted several times to contact the Education Ministry’s Secretary Nalaka Kaluwewa to query as to whether the Ministry would look into the issue and discuss possible solutions with the relevant authorities, he was not reachable.
Several countries around the world including Sri Lanka have been facing uncertainty in fuel supply amid escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, which have placed pressure on global energy markets and fears of possible disruptions to oil supplies. These developments have contributed to concerns about the country’s fuel availability in the coming weeks. Against this backdrop, the Government re-introduced the QR code–based fuel distribution system from 15 March to regulate fuel distribution and manage the demand.