Teacher shortages in difficult stations persist despite 3,225 Teacher appointments: CTU

Ceylon Teachers Union (CTU) Gen.Sec. Joseph Stalin this week charged that 3,225 teacher appointments given recently has not solved the teacher shortages in schools in difficult stations.

Mr Stalin said the placement of the new teachers was not in keeping with the shortage of teachers in schools. He said that schools in the North, East, North Central Province and in the plantation sectors, where there are several vacancies, have not been filled, with popular schools getting the appoint- ments instead. He said Royal College Colombo has an excess of teachers and yet were granted 19 new appointments.

"Alternatively, Anuradhapura with a shortage of 1,700 teachers got only 155 new appointments," he said.

"This is wrong and will prolong the shortage of teachers in difficult areas," he said.

He said that, although there is supposed to be a shortage of teachers in schools islandwide, in popular schools, every 20 students have a teacher.