The Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) has raised alarm over a critical shortage of teachers for the G.C.E. Advanced Level (A/L) across the country, particularly in urban national schools.

Union Secretary Joseph Stalin accused the government of failing to implement concrete measures to address the long-standing issue, despite repeated acknowledgements that the education sector is short of approximately 30,000 teachers.

“The government keeps repeating there’s a shortage, but there’s no action to recruit teachers. National schools in cities like Colombo are severely affected—especially when it comes to A/L classes. Existing teachers are burdened with excessive workloads, and there’s a dire need for English medium graduates in science and mathematics, as well as qualified IT teachers,” Stalin stressed.

He described the situation as a “serious crisis” that jeopardises the quality of education for thousands of students preparing for university entrance.