Hon. Harini Amarasuriya

¶ 01 Annex 01 is as follows.

¶ 02 Annex 02 is as follows.

¶ 03 Teacher vacancies in Provincial Schools by District as at 31.01.2025:

¶ 04 - Western Province - Colombo: Sinhala 449, Tamil 130, English 57; Total 636 - Gampaha: Sinhala 0, Tamil 27, English 2; Total 29 - Kalutara: Sinhala 155, Tamil 40, English 23; Total 218 - Central Province - Kandy: Sinhala 60, Tamil 42, English 75; Total 177 - Matale: Sinhala 25, Tamil 59, English 36; Total 120 - Nuwara Eliya: Sinhala 33, Tamil 17, English 4; Total 54 - Southern Province - Galle: Sinhala 318, Tamil 13, English 7; Total 338 - Matara: Sinhala 104, Tamil 40, English 0; Total 144 - Hambantota: Sinhala 137, Tamil 17, English 0; Total 154 - Northern Province - Jaffna: Sinhala 0, Tamil 0, English 0; Total 0 - Mannar: Sinhala 0, Tamil 0, English 0; Total 0 - Vavuniya: Sinhala 6, Tamil 0, English 11; Total 17 - Mullaitivu: Sinhala 12, Tamil 11, English 0; Total 23 - Kilinochchi: Sinhala 0, Tamil 3, English 0; Total 3 - Eastern Province - Batticaloa: Sinhala 0, Tamil 9, English 2; Total 11 - Ampara: Sinhala 59, Tamil 0, English 33; Total 92 - Trincomalee: Sinhala 74, Tamil 46, English 3; Total 123 - North-Western Province - Kurunegala: Sinhala 82, Tamil 71, English 0; Total 153 - Puttalam: Sinhala 68, Tamil 2, English 22; Total 92 - North-Central Province - Anuradhapura: Sinhala 0, Tamil 0, English 0; Total 0 - Polonnaruwa: Sinhala 108, Tamil 8, English 9; Total 125 - Uva Province - Badulla: Sinhala 0, Tamil 21, English 1; Total 22 - Monaragala: Sinhala 4, Tamil 0, English 13; Total 17 - Sabaragamuwa Province - Ratnapura: Sinhala 0, Tamil 54, English 25; Total 79 - Kegalle: Sinhala 0, Tamil 0, English 25; Total 25

¶ 05 Total: Sinhala 1,694; Tamil 570; English 388; Grand Total 2,652.

¶ 06 Teacher vacancies in National Schools by District as at 31.01.2025:

¶ 07 - Western Province: Colombo 1,321; Gampaha 1,872; Kalutara 1,102 - Central Province: Kandy 971; Matale 1,635; Nuwara Eliya 2,676 - Southern Province: Galle 1,120; Matara 626; Hambantota 766 - Northern Province: Jaffna 1,477; Mannar 655; Vavuniya 509; Mullaitivu 481; Kilinochchi 376 - Eastern Province: Batticaloa 1,946; Ampara 2,405; Trincomalee 2,013 - North-Western Province: Kurunegala 2,481; Puttalam 1,347 - North-Central Province: Anuradhapura 1,658; Polonnaruwa 916 - Uva Province: Badulla 1,948; Monaragala 1,492 - Sabaragamuwa Province: Ratnapura 3,464; Kegalle 2,597

¶ 08 Total: 40,621.

¶ 09 Gazette Notifications No. 2087 dated 2018.08.31 were issued for recruitment to the Sri Lanka Teachers’ Service for Dhamma Acharyas. The competitive examination for recruitment was held on 2019.05.25.

¶ 10 However, following the examination, due to the COVID-19 pandemic from 2020 onwards, further steps for recruitment were not carried out. Subsequently, although basic steps for recruitments were outlined by Treasury Circular No. 03/2022 dated 2022.04.26 on the Review of Government Expenditure, under the recommendation to defer recruitments to posts not yet filled, this recruitment was again temporarily suspended.

¶ 11 (i) Since it is mandatory to appoint annually to the Teachers’ Service the diploma holders in National Diploma in Teaching (Dhamma) who pass out annually, appointments in the respective religious subjects to the Sri Lanka Teachers’ Service have been given annually from 2019 to 2023 to graduates of the National Diploma in Teaching (Religious Studies).

¶ 12 Accordingly, as recruitments under Gazette Notification No. 2087 of 2018.08.31 for religious subjects could not be made within that period, and as there are no significant vacancies now, and since even the limited current vacancies must be set aside for the National Diploma in Teaching graduates passing out from Colleges of Education in March 2025, we have, regarding recruitment of teachers for religious subjects on the results of the competitive examination held on 2019.05.25, sought instructions from the Public Service Commission by letter dated 2024.09.25. We will proceed as per the instructions received.

¶ 13 (ii) Not applicable.

¶ 14 (iv) Not applicable.

¶ 15 Pirivena education:

¶ 16 - Number of Pirivena teachers paid by the Ministry of Education: 7,358 - Number of registered Pirivena institutions: 825

¶ 17 Measures to improve the quality of Pirivena education: - Implement review programmes to uplift identified lagging Pirivena institutions. - Revise Pirivena curricula under the new education reforms (e.g., introduce a practical test for the Tripitaka Dhamma subject at the Pirivena G.C.E. Ordinary Level Examination). - Prioritise provision of textbooks, uniforms, footwear, identity cards, and improvement of hostel facilities for student monks (e.g., allocate Rs. 60 million to improve hostel facilities for 800 student monks). - Allocate Rs. 400 million to provide IT equipment, including smart classrooms, to 342 identified Pirivena for digitisation. - Introduce a special programme for physical and human resource development of Pirivena institutions, including teacher capacity development, and implement administrative and institutional reforms to increase student numbers.

¶ 18 Dhamma schools:

¶ 19 - Number of Dhamma school teachers: 123,931 - Number of registered Dhamma schools: 10,646

¶ 20 Measures to improve the quality of Dhamma education: - Conduct “Guru Abhimani” capacity-building training to improve Dhamma school teachers’ teaching skills; this training now covers all districts. - Conduct “Dhamma Sarasaviya” programme to enhance teachers’ Dhamma knowledge, with resource support from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura and the Sri Lanka Pali and Buddhist University. - Conduct the Dhamma School Teacher Examination annually to credential underqualified volunteer teachers and uplift the dignity of the Dhamma School Teacher Service. - Provide annual library and travel allowances and a uniform allowance to enhance teachers’ Dhamma knowledge: Rs. 5,000 as library and transport allowance; from 2025, Rs. 2,500 uniform allowance for teachers who complete three years of service.

¶ 21 As stated above, from 2025, a uniform allowance of Rs. 2,500 is approved for teachers who have completed three years of service.

¶ 22 Regarding the allowance, a question has been raised. Mr. Speaker, Dhamma school teachers render a voluntary service and this is an honorarium, not a salary. Many do this voluntarily and we value that voluntary service. Therefore, this is not a service that can be given a market price and turned into a salaried post. We believe the culture of volunteerism should be valued and preserved, and treating it like a wage is not appropriate, Mr. Speaker.