Minister of Education, Higher Education, and Vocational Education, and Prime Minister, Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, informed Parliament on 5 December 2025 that urgent steps will be taken to recruit graduates into the teaching service, following the conclusion of a court case that had previously delayed appointments.
Responding to a question by MP Chandana Suriyaarachchi, the Prime Minister said that development officers can now be appointed as teachers. She explained that an interim injunction had earlier suspended the competitive examination for the recruitment of graduates into teaching positions for Sinhala, Tamil, and English medium provincial schools, but the court has now dismissed the case.
A gazette notification has confirmed a temporary increase of the upper age limit from 40 to 45 years, applicable only for this recruitment cycle.
The Prime Minister noted that the High Court case had previously prevented the examination from being held due to pending appeals in the Court of Appeal. Following the cabinet approval on 26 October 2025 and the conclusion of the Court of Appeal case on 20 November 2025, steps have now been taken to finalize the recruitment process.
This includes determining the revised age limits for government graduates and non-graduates and conducting separate examinations for third-grade teacher vacancies.
“Accordingly, urgent measures will be implemented to recruit graduates into the teaching service and fill existing vacancies,” the Prime Minister stated.
