All teachers in Sri Lanka, including those conducting private tuition classes, will be required to obtain a teaching licence once the proposed National Education Council is established, a senior Education Ministry official said.
The official said a teacher would be considered suitable for the education system only after obtaining the licence, signalling a proposed move towards a more formally regulated teaching profession.
The Education Ministry also said it has proposed that teachers who obtain doctoral degrees should receive a basic salary equivalent to that of a university academic. The measure is intended to help retain highly qualified and talented teachers within the education system.
Under the proposed arrangement, the basic salaries of school teachers holding doctoral degrees and university academics would be equal, with differences between their overall remuneration arising only from allowances.
The proposed reforms would also extend to government-approved private schools. The authorities plan to introduce standards governing charges imposed when children are admitted to such schools, while a regulatory process covering the schools is also expected to begin.
The proposed National Education Council would bring wider changes to the recruitment of teachers. Once the council is established, only graduates would be recruited as teachers, according to the Education Ministry official.
The official said the education system needed greater regulation and that a system in which individuals could act according to their own preferences should be removed. The proposed measures are intended to establish a stronger framework governing professional standards and conduct across the education sector.
The council would cover all professional categories within general education, including teachers, teacher advisers, principals, teacher educators and education administrators. Its chairperson would be appointed by the President.
The proposed council therefore represents a broader attempt to establish a common regulatory structure covering different professional roles within Sri Lanka’s general education system, while introducing requirements for teacher licensing and graduate-level recruitment.
The proposed legislation has already received Cabinet approval and is expected to be presented to Parliament shortly.
If enacted, the measures would introduce significant new requirements for teachers, particularly through the proposed teaching licence, while also establishing new standards for teacher recruitment, remuneration and the regulation of government-approved private schools.
