• CTU claims school count down from 10,290 to 10,047
• Alleges teachers, resources withheld and Grade 1 enrolment restricted
• Govt says schools with dwindling numbers must be reviewed 

The number of schools in Sri Lanka has fallen by nearly 240 since the National People's Power (NPP) Government came to power, with the Ceylon Teachers' Union (CTU) alleging that the Government is using a two-pronged approach that could eventually lead to the closure of more schools.

Speaking to The Daily Morning, CTU President Priyantha Fernando said the country had 10,290 National and Provincial schools when the current Government came to power, but that the number had since fallen by around 240.

"By now, that number has gone down by 240. There are now only about 10,050 schools," he said.

However, according to a response provided by the Education Ministry to a Right to Information request filed by The Daily Morning, the total number of schools stood at 10,047 as at 15 September, comprising 396 National schools and 9,651 Provincial schools.

Fernando said there had previously been around 1,600 schools with fewer than 50 students and claimed that the Government was using two methods to close schools.

"One is not providing teachers and other resources, and the other is not enrolling children in Grade One at some schools," he claimed.

He said some schools would again not enrol children in Grade One next year (2027), resulting in those schools gradually losing their lower grades.

"Then, those schools will have no Grades One and Two. After some time, the school will naturally close down," he said.

Fernando also referred to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's reported position that a school should have at least 500 students, claiming that only around 3,000 schools in the country currently have more than 500 students.

"If you look at it that way, eventually, only 3,000 schools will be left in the country," he said.

Ministry Secretary Nalaka Kaluwewa was unavailable for comment.

Fernando's remarks come as the Ministry is restructuring more than 1,600 Government schools with fewer than 50 students. The Ministry has stated that schools are being considered on a case-by-case basis rather than being subjected to a blanket closure programme, with students to be relocated to better-resourced nearby schools where necessary, with transport facilities provided.

However, while the Government is not currently taking steps to close schools, schools experiencing a continuing decline in student numbers will have to be reviewed, Cabinet Spokesperson and Health Minister Dr Nalinda Jayatissa said.

Addressing the weekly Cabinet media briefing yesterday (29), Dr Jayatissa said that no school had been closed through Government intervention, but that decisions would have to be taken regarding schools that did not have a sufficient number of students.

"Due to the gradual decline in student numbers over many years, the number of schools in our school system has decreased. We need to find an answer to this. If there are genuinely no students in a school, we have to decide whether that school should continue to be maintained," he said.

He said the issue was being closely examined at the divisional and zonal levels, taking into consideration the number of students and teachers in schools.

Dr Jayatissa said the Government's policy was to ensure that every child had access to a primary school with the necessary facilities within a short distance, while providing an adequate number of secondary and tertiary schools.

He stressed that the Government had no intention of depriving children of education in any area or medium, including Tamil-medium schools.

"Our intention is not to close schools simply for the sake of closing them. We are developing a system to ensure that every child receives a high-quality education," he said.

Dr Jayatissa said some schools had been established 60 or 70 years ago according to the population and needs of communities at the time, while population patterns and community needs had since changed.

He said these factors, together with the number of students and teachers, had to be considered when deciding how schools should be maintained in the future.

He said the Government expected to recruit around 30,000 teachers soon, which would also help address the existing teacher shortage.

Meanwhile, Dr Jayatissa said the ongoing education reforms were not limited to changes to the curriculum, but also included providing the required physical and human resources, education administration reforms, and changes to evaluation and assessment.

He said reforms introduced in Grade One last year (2025) would be extended to Grades One, Two and Six by next year (2027), with the reforms being implemented gradually.