Island Teachers’ Hardship Allowance Stopped; Teachers’ Union Sends Urgent Letter to Education Ministry

07-Apr-2026

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The Sri Lanka Teachers’ Union has strongly condemned the arbitrary suspension of the hardship allowance previously granted to teachers serving in the island regions of Jaffna.

An urgent letter regarding the issue has been sent by the Union’s General Secretary Joseph Stalin to the Secretary of the Ministry of Education.

According to the letter, teachers travelling to schools in the Jaffna islands must undertake dangerous sea journeys from Jaffna town to report for duty.

However, under the School Classification Circular No. 01/2024(1) issued by the Education Ministry, these schools have been removed from the list of hardship-area schools.

Due to this improper classification, 174 teachers have lost their entitled allowances, including 23 teachers from three schools in Analaitivu, 13 teachers from two schools in Eluvaitivu, 92 teachers from eight schools in Delft Island, and 46 teachers from three schools in Nainativu.

The letter states that officials based their classification only on factors such as internet facilities, water supply, and bus transport, while completely ignoring the extremely hazardous sea travel involved.

It also alleges that Northern Province education authorities failed to highlight this critical factor when submitting information to the Ministry, resulting in the suspension of allowances previously paid to island teachers.

The Union has demanded that this injustice be immediately corrected and allowances reinstated. It also urged the Ministry to review similar cases in other provinces where hardship allowances have been lost due to the new classification system.

Additionally, although the 2026 Budget announced an increase in hardship allowances, teachers are still being paid the old rates of Rs. 2,500 and Rs. 1,500. The Union has urged the Ministry to immediately implement the promised increase.