Education of 300,000 Grade 1 students affected: Ceylon Teachers’ Union

14-May-2026

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Chairman of the Ceylon Teachers’ Union, Priyantha Fernando, has stated that due to delays in the implementation of new education reforms introduced by the government, Grade 1 curricula, teaching modules, and teacher training programmes for the second school term of 2026 have not yet been issued.

As a result, nearly 300,000 Grade 1 students across the country and their teachers are facing a major crisis.

He made these remarks during a press conference held in Colombo.

Fernando said that although the matter has been clearly communicated to the Ministry of Education, no proper solution has been provided so far. The government had planned to implement reforms for Grade 1 and Grade 6 in 2026, but due to issues in the Grade 6 syllabus, the process had been temporarily suspended.

Although teaching modules for the first term were issued and school activities commenced, the absence of any guidance for the second term has now severely disrupted Grade 1 education activities.

He stressed that Grade 1 forms the foundation of a country’s education system, and failure to implement the reforms properly, despite government promises, could have serious consequences in building the future generation.