CTSU: Brain drain crippling schools

Govt. urged to recruit teachers as national priority

By Saman Indrajith

Teachers of English, Mathematics, and Information Technology are among those who are migrating in large numbers, the JVP-led Ceylon Teacher Services Union (CTSU) has said, adding that around 5,000 teachers have left the country during the past nine months alone.

CTSU General Secretary Mahinda Jayasinghe said some teachers had resigned and others had obtained leave to go overseas for employment.

“This is bound to deal a crippling blow to the entire education system. Usually, around 5,000 teachers retire annually. Atop this, teachers are leaving the country.

“A survey commissioned by UNICEF has shown that literacy and numeracy levels among 85 percent of Grade 3 children are low,” Jayasinghe said, noting that the government had decided against recruitment to the public service during the current year. “We are already experiencing a dearth of around 40,000 teachers. The problem of teacher shortage is very acute in remote areas. About 10 percent of these vacancies are in the North Central Province. At least, teachers should be recruited on a priority basis,” Jayasinghe said.

 “The government has to come up with solutions for the problem existing in the teaching profession. It has not rectified the salary anomaly issue properly.”