The Hon. (Dr.) (Ms.) Harini Amarasuriya

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, along with answering 10(b)(iv), I will also provide information regarding the Development Officers raised by Hon. Nalin Bandara earlier.

¶ 02 The answer to Question No. 10 is as follows:

¶ 03 (a) (i) There are 08 National Schools in Puttalam District. (Annex 01 tabled) (ii) There are 02 Educational Zones in the district (Puttalam and Chilaw). (iii) Teacher vacancies in National Schools in the district total 179. The breakdown by subject and zone is provided in Annex 02. In Provincial Schools, total teacher vacancies are 1,262; the breakdown by subject and zone is in Annex 03. (iv) In January 2025, approximately 4,500 holders of the Diploma in Education from the National Colleges of Education are to be appointed to the teaching service. Based on subject matching, appointments will be given to fill Puttalam District vacancies in Grades 1–5 and 6–11. In addition, Cabinet approval has been obtained to make new appointments to teacher vacancies that arose after 30.06.2023 in National and Provincial schools; those recruitments are scheduled during 2025.

¶ 04 Regarding the Development Officers already serving in the public service and graduates serving in other posts: a competitive exam to absorb them into the teaching service was scheduled on 25.03.2023. A court order restrained holding that exam, and thus recruitments were suspended. Further action will be taken based on future court orders. Since the Public Service Commission has not approved the previous Cabinet decision to fill vacancies without competitive exams, such recruitments cannot be done now. A Ministerial Committee and an officials’ committee have been appointed on my proposal to recommend long-term, fair, and sustainable solutions; we expect their report within a week and will present it also to Court and the Public Service Commission.