Urban schools face severe A/L teacher shortage?

The Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) raised alarm over a critical shortage of teachers for the G.C.E. Advanced Level (A/L) in schools across the country, particularly in urban national schools.

Union 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 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.

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 pointed to the booming informal tutoring sector as a direct consequence of these teacher shortages.

“Over Rs. 200 billion is now circulating in the tutoring industry,” he revealed, citing the growing dependence of students and parents on private tuition to fill the gaps left by the formal education system.

Prof. Athukorala also criticized the 2025 budget, saying it failed to address the longstanding issues in the education sector.