Minister of Education Susil Premajayantha stated that despite economic challenges, the government has successfully addressed the teacher shortage by deploying 16,000 teachers at both the national and provincial levels.
He emphasized that under the leadership of President Ranil Wickremesinghe, the government took on the responsibility of steering the country towards recovery within two years, especially during a time when no one else stepped up amidst the country’s most severe crisis. The minister highlighted the necessity of this initiative at this critical juncture.
Addressing the press briefing titled “Collective Path to a Stable Country” held at the Presidential Media Centre (PMC) today (22), Education Minister Susil Premajayantha further elaborated;
Alongside the “Aragalaya” with the COVID-19 pandemic, every sector in this country, including the entire education system, faced a significant crisis. It is noteworthy that our government, led by President Ranil Wickremesinghe, assumed the responsibility of reviving the country when no one else did. Consequently, the situation has improved, and the country has been restored over the past two years. It is important to reflect on the state of the country then and its current condition.
Additionally, the Chinese government has confirmed that it will provide 100% of the school uniforms for Sri Lankan school students in 2025. The distribution of school books for 2025 to local stores will commence tomorrow. We have also arranged to provide lunch for all schools, except for the main national schools, benefiting 1.7 million students.
Furthermore, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) is set to provide USD 85 million to Ocean University.
Development activities at other universities, which were halted due to a lack of foreign aid, have also resumed. This is crucial for both the university system and the construction industry.
We are actively working to address two key issues affecting the teaching profession in the education sector. As part of this effort, we will conduct a review of these issues and resolve them, enabling timely salary increments. The Secretary of the Public Service Commission has agreed to expedite this process, and after receiving the necessary directives from the Ministry, we will forward them to provincial authorities by next Wednesday.
Additionally, we have facilitated the appointment of about 16,000 teachers at both national and provincial levels during this period, despite economic difficulties. This has helped to effectively address the teacher shortage.
We have also arranged to provide 2,700 high-tech Smart Boards to schools, with the goal of digitizing the entire school network. Furthermore, the Asian Development Bank plans to provide USD 400 million for teacher training.
