Haphazard posting of 4,286 new teachers doesn’t resolve shortage- CTU
View(s):The Ceylon Teachers Union (CTU) claimed that the posting granted to 4,286 new teachers has created a chaotic situation, which has failed to clear the teacher shortages in rural schools.
The CTU said the Ministry of Education (MoE) has assigned the majority of the teachers to the 353 National schools, while ignoring the over 9,800 Provincial schools, which are experiencing a severe teacher shortage.
CTU Secretary Joseph Stalin said the postings has severely inconvenienced the new recruits who were recruited solely to fill vacancies in rural schools.
The MoE has posted them in a haphazard way, by appointing teachers of the Uva Province to the Eastern Province, those from the Northern Province to Sabragamuwa Province and teachers from the North-Central Province to distant areas.
He said these teachers were recruited under Section 6.1.1 of gazette notification No.1914 where, Advanced Level students from difficult areas were selected to the National College of Education (NCE) despite their lower Z-scores, because they were willing to serve in rural areas and hence, those with high Z-scores from urban areas were ignored.
He said the Government is appointing these teachers contrary to the clause that says they will be appointed to Provincial schools.
The clause also says they may be appointed to National schools only if there are no vacancies in the Provincial schools. “But there are several vacancies in Provincial schools and the Government is once again ignoring the need,” he said.
- CC