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New curriculum reforms draw ire of teacher unions
View(s):By Dilushi Wijesinghe
This week, the Ministry of Education released a circular outlining the implementation of the 2026 curriculum reforms, which includes extending school hours until 2:00 p.m. for grades five to nine, but already has drawn protests from teacher unions.
According to the circular, the reforms aim to modernise Sri Lanka’s education system and align learning with 21st century competencies. However, the circular has drawn sharp criticism from trade union teacher representatives who describe the move as arbitrary and inconvenient to both students and teachers.
The Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) argues that logistical and practical challenges, such as seven to eight periods “with only two 10-minute breaks”, would strain students, teachers, and parents alike. “Even for the main subjects, 50 minutes have been allocated. This completely disrupts how the curriculum is supposed to be implemented,” CTU President Joseph Stalin said.
However, Education Ministry Secretary Nalaka Kaluwewa clarified that the ministry’s recommendation on breaks had been misunderstood. “It’s not two ten-minute breaks,” he said. “We are giving only one break, and schools have the flexibility to decide the length depending on their requirements.”
“These reforms bring in digitalisation, AI, and independent thinking – skills that are essential for the 21st century. The idea is not to confine children to one box but to prepare them for the next level of learning,” he told the Sunday Times. The reforms are set to be introduced in a new curriculum for Grade 1 and Grade 6 starting in January 2026.
The Primary curriculum (Grades 1 – 5) will focus on competency-based learning. Continuous assessment will gradually replace traditional examinations, with teachers maintaining detailed student profiles and skill records to monitor individual progress.
“At the moment, the assessments entirely depend on examinations,” Mr. Kaluwewa said. “Through this new system, we are mainly introducing continuous assessment.”
He added that while the move would reduce the reliance on rote testing, national examinations such as the Ordinary Level and Advanced Level would continue. “We are not discontinuing the O-Levels,” he said. “Those will continue in the same way, but with a lighter curriculum so that the content pressure on students will be reduced.”
School hours will now run from 7:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. for Grades 5 – 9, with new textbooks and supplementary materials ready for distribution at the start of the year. The schedule for daily lessons will include a 50-minute period or a 30-minute special session in addition to the previous periods.
Grade 6 will be introduced to a credit-based learning system, with students studying fourteen core subjects and selecting three optional subjects from a set of six.
In addition to academics, transversal skills such as critical thinking, communication, and digital literacy will be included across all areas of learning.
CTU President Stalin said, “The school timetable belongs to the teachers and principals. It has not been implemented following any consultation. If such changes are to be made, there must be an agreement with the organisations representing teachers. The government cannot unilaterally take over that time without discussion,” he alleged.
Mr. Stalin also warned about the impact on students, describing the extended hours as unproductive. “From the children’s perspective too, this move is entirely unproductive,” he said. “They have decided that the children’s time – which is their right – should be utilised for teaching up to that limit. Such a decision should only be taken after considering the psychological impact. What study has been done to assess the endurance and capacity of children? None,” he alleged.
The CTU president further emphasised the challenges for parents, particularly regarding transportation. “This is a serious problem for parents because of transport issues,” he said.
Mr. Kaluwewa, however, defended the ministry’s preparation for the reforms, rejecting claims that teachers had not been adequately consulted. “Even before issuing the circular, we had several rounds of training programmes and discussions with most stakeholders,” he said. “Not with all teachers, as that is not possible, but through zonal offices we have covered a considerable segment. By December, we expect to complete training for more than 100,000 teachers,” he said.
“We have already completed the master training programmes,” he continued, “and each zone is now conducting subject-specific sessions. The idea is to make students ready for the next generation – the Alpha generation – who are growing up in a fully digitalised world. Their expectations and thinking patterns are completely different. So we cannot keep using a traditional education system that no longer fits.”
The CTU says they have formally raised objections to the Ministry, meeting Ministry Secretary Kaluwewa on October 8. “We clearly stated that we are opposed to schools being held until two o’clock,” Mr. Stalin said. “We explained the confusion and disorder caused by these reforms. However, without considering any of that, they are working arbitrarily. There has been no formal response to our concerns other than a statement that our views were noted,” he said.
Mr. Kaluwewa, however, insisted that the unions were given opportunities to engage. “We invited all of them,” he said. “We had discussions two or three times with all the unions. They have the right to criticise; that’s not a problem, but they have to engage. Twice, they walked away from the meetings. Even two weeks ago, I had a discussion with the same union. We always give them a chance to express their views, but if they walk away, what can we do?” he questioned.
 Schools lack more than 36,000 teachers Schools across the country face a shortage of 36,000 teachers, Prme Minister and Education Minister Dr Harini Amarasuriya revealed in Parliament. National schools had 1,501 vacancies while the rest were in provincial schools. Eastern Province had the highest number of vacancies followed by the Central and | |
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