The Government has agreed to increase teachers’ and Principals’ salaries and to pay them an additional monthly allowance for conducting lessons online and on electronic media, Education Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said.
Speaking to the media, he said Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa will announce the salary hike of teachers and principals when he presents the Budget for 2022 in Parliament next month.
“The Cabinet chaired by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has made a decision on the Teacher-Principal Trade Union demands for a salary hike. It will be in several stages.
The Cabinet also agreed to make the Teacher Service a ‘Closed Service’. We have informed the Cabinet decision on this to all Teacher-Principal Trade Unions. A special committee has been appointed to report other prevailing problems in schools and in the Education Department, within six months. We have also agreed to provide a monthly allowance as an incentive for those conducting online classes and educational programmes on the electronic media,” he remarked. “The student population in the country amounts to 4.3 million. Schools must be reopened for learning activities when the country is gradually coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. About 225,000 teachers have been vaccinated against COVID-19. Within the next two weeks, we plan to open 3,000 schools in the country. We urge all teachers to report to work and give their best contribution to school educational activities,” he told the media.
The Provincial Governors have unanimously agreed to re-open schools from Grade 1 to 5 initially from October 21. Prior to that schools will be cleaned with the assistance of health and Local Government authorities. The first week will be dedicated to improving the mental health of the students who have been confined to their homes for almost 18 months.
by Daily News Sri Lanka
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