During a parliamentary session, Dr. Susil Premajayantha, the Leader of the House and Education Minister, provided an update on the state of academic staff vacancies within Sri Lanka’s state university system. He revealed that currently, there are 2,070 vacant positions in the academic staff, and efforts are underway to promptly address these vacancies through necessary recruitment measures.
In addition to discussing the vacant positions, the Minister highlighted that between 2021 and 2023, around 1,300 employees had left the service, mostly due to retirements. He assured that the required recruitment processes will be initiated to fill these positions left vacant by the departing staff members.
Further elaborating on the numbers, Dr. Premajayantha stated that 519 employees had retired, and 663 had resigned during the mentioned period.
The response came during a session in which NPP MP Dr. Harini Amarasuriya raised the question, drawing attention to the critical issue of academic staff shortages in the state university system. The Education Minister’s assurances and commitment to swiftly addressing the vacancies are crucial in ensuring the smooth functioning and quality of education within the universities.
