The Cabinet has yesterday (01) decided to increase the daily allowance given to teachers for evaluating A/L exam papers from Rs.900 to Rs.2,000 and to double the overall allowances of university lecturers.

This decision was taken at the special Cabinet meeting held last evening under the chairmanship of President Ranil Wickremesinghe to discuss the issues in the education sector.

With the increase in allowances, the Examinations Department has taken steps to call for applications from teachers for the second time yesterday for paper marking.

The Cabinet has also decided to establish a separate agency for the regulation of private universities.

University Grants Commission Chairman Professor Sampath Amaratunga and Examinations Commissioner General Amith Jayasundara were also invited to this meeting to get their opinions.

Although 15,000 teachers have applied for paper marking, not enough teachers have applied for subjects like chemistry, physics, and combined mathematics.

A large number of teachers have not applied since the daily allowance has not been increased.

The Examination Department expressed optimism that teachers will apply for paper marking in light of the new decision to increase allowances.