The Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) has raised alarm over a critical shortage of teachers for the G.C.E. Advanced Level (A/L) in schools islandwide, especially in urban national schools.
CTU Secretary Joseph Stalin stated that the government has failed to implement any concrete plans to address the shortage, despite consistent claims that the education sector is lacking approximately 30,000 teachers.
“The government keeps repeating that there’s a shortage, but there’s no action to recruit teachers. National schools in cities like Colombo are severely affected—especially when it comes to A/L classes. Existing teachers are burdened with excessive workloads, and there’s a dire need for English medium graduates in science and mathematics, as well as qualified IT teachers”, Stalin stressed.
Meanwhile, Director of the Postgraduate Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Peradeniya Prof. Wasantha Athukorala He described the situation as a “serious crisis” that threatens the quality of education for thousands of students preparing for university entrance.
Meanwhile, Director of the Postgraduate Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Peradeniya Prof. Wasantha Athukorala has pointed to the booming informal tutoring sector as a direct consequence of these teacher shortages.
He has also criticized the 2025 budget, saying it failed to address the longstanding issues in the education sector.
Previously, Prof. Athukorala has also pointed out that private tuition teachers in the country collectively earn Rs.210 billion annually and that this massive revenue stream remains outside any taxation framework.
