- Opposition to move at the meeting with the PM on 22 Dec.
The Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU), who were unable to proceed with their planned trade union (TU) action on 12 December against the proposed extension of school hours, due to the cyclonic disaster, stated they are reconsidering TU action when the new school term begins on 5 January of next year (2026).
Speaking to The Daily Morning, the CTU President Priyantha Fernando said they were informed the Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya was scheduled to meet the teachers unions representatives on 22 December, when the reforms will be discussed once again. He said they would use the meeting to reiterate their opposition to extend school hours until 2 p.m.
He warned that if the authorities refuse to revise the plan, they would be left with no option but to resort to TU action when the schools reopen for the new term on 5 January 2026. “What we continue to say is that any education reform should be implemented within the existing school hours, from 7.30 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. Extending the school time is not acceptable to us,” he added.
The Education Ministry has however stated that recent disruptions caused by floods and landslides would not affect the rollout of the education reforms, which are due to begin in January. Ministry Secretary Nalaka Kaluwewa said on an earlier occasion that the reforms would be implemented exactly as planned, with all previously announced changes coming into effect when schools reopen in January and full implementation across the relevant grades by 22 January.
The reform package includes an extension of the school day until 2 p.m., a one-week familiarisation programme for Grade Six students, and changes to the Ordinary Level (O/L) curriculum. Under the revised structure, the number of O/L subjects will be reduced to seven, with five core subjects — Mathematics, English, the Mother Tongue, Religion, and Science — and two subjects selected from streams such as Technology, Aesthetics, Management and Entrepreneurship, Humanities and Social Sciences, and Health and Physical Education. The daily timetable will be adjusted to seven teaching periods of 50 minutes each.