All new teachers of Sri Lanka to undergo one year training in teaching

Sri Lanka Minister of Education Bandula Gunawardena says President Mahinda Rajapaksa has directed him to provide a one year training to all the newly recruited teachers before sending them to schools for teaching.

The Ministry is to follow a policy of giving at least one year training on teaching from next year to each teacher recruited, the Minister says.

The Minister stated that the President gave these instructions following receiving complaints from students and teachers that most of the newly appointed 554 teachers cannot teach in English medium.

Out of 8,000 candidates who took the competitive examination to recruit English medium teachers, 4,000 passed the examination and 554 of them were selected through the interview. However, a large number of them have rejected the appointment, says the Minister. The Minister expressed these views at a function held yesterday in the Ministry of Education.