– The Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) has warned that irregularities and ambiguities in the gazette notification issued for teacher recruitment have contributed to a crisis in the education system, with thousands of vacancies remaining unfilled.

CTU General Secretary Joseph Stalin said the Government had initially acknowledged 46,000 teacher vacancies before revising the figure to 36,000. However, the Government had decided to recruit only 23,000 teachers, while around 17,000 applicants had been summoned for the initial round of interviews, he said.He questioned when the vacancies would be filled, noting that the interview process was expected to commence by the middle of next month, meaning appointments were unlikely to be made before January.

Stalin said the vacancies had remained unfilled for more than a year and a half, forcing schools to continue operating amid a severe shortage of teachers.He also criticized the Government for pursuing education reforms while failing to address the shortage, warning that the situation was having a serious impact on students who were left without teachers.Meanwhile, he said a large number of teachers had been unable to obtain transfers because replacements had not been appointed. Some teachers had been serving at the same schools for 12 to 13 years without being able to secure transfers, he added.“Since replacements are not being recruited, these teachers will have to remain at their current schools for another year,” he said.

Stalin said the ambiguities and shortcomings in the gazette notification issued for the recruitment examinations had contributed to the crisis.He questioned who would take responsibility for the unfilled vacancies and the difficulties faced by teachers and students as a result of the prolonged delay in recruitment.