Sri Lanka’s higher education system is grappling with a severe staffing crisis, with fewer than half the required number of university lecturers currently active, Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) said.
FUTA Secretary Dr Charudatta Ilangasinghe said yesterday (30) that while the system requires approximately 12,000 lecturers, only around 5,000 are currently serving.
He said the shortfall is driven largely by resignations, extended study leave, and overseas assignments.
At the University of Peradeniya alone, some 200 lecturers have resigned over the past year — a stark indicator of what FUTA describes as an increasingly untenable professional environment for academic staff.
In a symbolic one-day strike held yesterday, university lecturers across the country called on the government to urgently address the situation.
FUTA warned that failure to meet their demands may result in further, more sustained industrial action in the coming weeks.
Dr Ilangasinghe noted that unattractive service conditions and a lack of incentives are deterring highly qualified professionals from entering or remaining in academia.
He also said that a month has passed since FUTA sent a letter to the President requesting an opportunity to discuss the problems facing university lecturers, but no response has been received so far.
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