Wednesday, 4 August 2004  
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Meeting teacher shortages

Plans by the Ministry of Education to address the shortage of teachers in National and provincial schools, under the direction of President Kumaratunga, are likely to gladden the hearts of those sections of the public which are dependent on the State school system for the fulfilment of the educational needs of their children and wards.

If the educational reforms launched by the President sometime back are to bear fruit in abundance, the academic staff requirements of our public schools should be met on an urgent basis. Accordingly, we hope the envisaged plans will be implemented expeditiously.

It need hardly be said that this Government's social justice commitments would compel it to act swiftly to rectify the serious problems which have been affecting the local public school system over the years. One of these is the acute shortage of teachers in particularly those geographical areas of the country which have been categorised as 'difficult'.

Whereas, some schools in urban areas have been reportedly over-staffed, some of the those in the distant provinces are continually starved of the required academic staff. This contributes towards serious imbalances in meeting the country's educational needs. While some regions of Sri Lanka are even lopsidedly developed in educational terms, some others are allowed to suffocate in a morass of deprivation and want.

Small wonder that poverty and educational backwardness are starkly prominent in some peripheral regions of the country. These regions of deprivation gradually degenerate into hotbeds of social discontent and rebellion.

We therefore welcome these timely moves by the educational authorities to rectify teacher shortages in our public schools.

Besides training, recruiting and appointing the correct teachers to the correct schools, a concerted effort needs to be made to rectify current anomalies in the transfer schemes of teachers. It is no secret that there is a marked reluctance among sections of the academic staff of schools to serve in 'difficult areas'.

This is a distressing situation which leads to these regions being under-served or not served at all. The distaste for these deprived regions leads to malpractices in the operation of transfer schemes, with some teachers even reportedly using political influence to remain in the more developed areas of the land.

It needs to be said right away that our teachers deserve a better deal, financially speaking. Some of their salaries are far too paltry and are not in keeping with the responsibilities they discharge.

Besides, they need to be provided reasonably comfortable lodgings if they are to serve in 'difficult areas'. These crucial needs of our teachers need to be met if we are to make some headway in ending the ills affecting our educational system.

It goes without saying that teachers - like all other sections in the public service - need to be adequately emotionally rewarded too, if they are to function effectively. The provision of their basic needs, while serving in 'difficult areas' in particular, could help in meeting this essential requirement. Showing them that their services are appreciated, would prove a timely fillip in the development of the educational sector.

We also hope that our teacher training institutions are gearing up to meet current challenges in the form of a complex student population.

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