Sajith urges govt to absorb underemployed and archaeology graduates to teaching service

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa has requested that underemployed graduates and archaeology graduates be granted the opportunity to enter the teaching service.

He made this appeal while participating in the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Education.

Regarding the open recruitment process for the teaching service, the validity date for degrees was initially set as June 30, 2025.

Premadasa noted that those aspiring to join the service had requested a revision of this deadline. Following his representations to the government, he welcomed the decision to extend the validity date to March 5, 2026.

However, the Opposition Leader pointed out that the validity date for recruitment under the limited competitive basis remains February 10, 2023. He urged the government to consider extending this date as well.

Furthermore, he highlighted that underemployed graduates currently working in the lowest grades of the public service have advanced their qualifications up to postgraduate levels.

He requested that the government take this into account and provide them with a formal pathway to enter the teaching profession.