The Education Ministry will recruit about 8,000 trainees to National Colleges of Education (NCE) to follow three-year residential teacher training courses in 2023.
Around 6,000 teachers retire annually and 5,000 school teachers have already applied for retirement this year and more teacher recruitments are now needed, Senior Director of Education, Kurunegala W.M. Balasooriya told the Sunday Observer.
About 4,000 school teachers who have experience in foreign languages and vocational skills have also applied for no-pay leave for five years to go abroad for lucrative jobs. Hence, there will be more vacancies for qualified teachers in Government schools in the future, he said. About 3,000 graduates too would be recruited after a competitive examination early next year (2023) to meet the future requirements of teachers in remote Government schools countrywide, Balasooriya said.
The Ministry of Education in its latest circular to all school heads has instructed them to give the number of subject teachers they need in their schools next year and to furnish the statistics of teacher requirements without delay.