The Hon. Harini Amarasuriya – Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Training

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, yes, this has become a serious issue in the education sector. At present, the total number of teacher vacancies is about 40,000. As I stated, due to certain court cases, we have faced obstacles in recruitment. However, we have planned to implement, as soon as possible, a procedure to recruit graduates.

¶ 02 Hon. Speaker, the Public Service Commission has issued several recommendations. It has been recommended that no recruitment in the education sector should be done without an examination. Therefore, we have to plan our recruitment in line with those recommendations. Nevertheless, by the latter part of this year, we expect to carry out recruitments to fill a certain number of these vacancies.

¶ 03 Hon. Speaker, in many instances results are suspended due to disciplinary measures. However, I accept the Hon. Member’s proposal. I will intervene to take one of two measures: either to release those results or, failing that, to extend the application deadline for university admissions. Thank you for bringing up this matter.