School sports coaches to receive teaching appointments?

Minister of Education Susil Premajayantha announced plans to recruit sports coaches, previously appointed to non-academic positions in schools from National Colleges of Education (NIEs), into the teaching service.

“Sports teachers were usually selected from the National Colleges of Education. Previously, approximately 3,000 individuals were recruited to serve as sports coaches. However, rather than being placed in teaching roles, they were assigned to non-academic staff positions. If these individuals meet the qualifications required for teaching service, appropriate measures will be taken to appoint them to teaching positions accordingly”, he assured.

Furthermore, the Education Minister also commented regarding the issues pertaining to the recruitment of English Language teachers.

Premajayantha further said: “Now, the appointments have been finalized based on the results of the examination held for the recruitment of 500 diploma-holders as [English] teachers in 2021. Interviews are currently underway, with 100 positions allocated for national schools and 400 for rural schools.”

“The issue is that we should also uphold the standard of question papers [for teaching exams], however, the issue of a lack of teachers still persists”, he added.