Brain drain is rampant among university teachers

Former President of the Federation of University Teachers' Associations (FUTA), Professor Shyam Bannahaka, said today that over 600 university teachers have left the country during the first six months.

He said that their trade union action was suspended after the government gave assurance that they would be given tax relief. "No one has given relief yet", he said.

The teacher-student ratio in state universities has declined with university lecturers leaving the country. The teacher-student ratio in the state universities has declined with university lecturers leaving the country. "The Sri Lankan universities are in danger of falling down in the international rankings of universities due to this situation, the FUTA said.

The association said that a university has a world-recognised ratio of one teacher to every 10 students. But the FUTA revealed that this figure in Sri Lanka has now dropped to one teacher for every 60 students.