Thursday Jan 15, 2026
Thursday Jan 15, 2026
Thursday, 15 January 2026 00:26 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Cabinet Spokesperson and Minister
Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa
By Charumini de Silva
Cabinet Spokesperson and Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa has announced that the Government has granted approval for the recruitment of over 100,000 individuals into the public service since assuming office.
Speaking at the weekly post-Cabinet meeting media briefing on Tuesday, he said all recruitments were carried out under the supervision of a special committee headed by the Secretary to the Prime Minister, established to oversee and rationalise public sector hiring.
“Unlike in the past, where recruitments were often made without basic evaluations or even available workspaces, based largely on political affiliations, we have assessed the actual needs of State institutions, their structures, and future requirements,” he said.
He added that around 70% of the approved recruitments have already been completed.
Responding to questions on staff shortages in certain State institutions and commissions, Dr. Jayatissa said the Cabinet of Ministers, at its meeting held on Monday, approved another 26,095 appointments recommended by the committee, following requests from line Ministries and affiliated institutions to fill existing vacancies.
The approved appointments include 23,344 recruits to the Sri Lanka Teachers’ Service, 705 to the Health and Media Ministry, 452 to the Justice and National Integration Ministry, 442 to the Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education Ministry, and 248 to the Ports and Civil Aviation Ministry.
Other allocations include 203 recruits to the Central Provincial Council, 167 to the Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment Ministry, 166 to the Transport, Highways and Urban Development Ministry, 102 to the Defence Ministry, and 76 to the Finance, Planning and Economic Development Ministry.
Additional appointments were approved for the Fisheries, Aquatic and Ocean Resources Ministry (50), Plantation and Community Infrastructure Ministry (37), Housing, Construction and Water Supply Ministry (33), Science and Technology Ministry (23), Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs Ministry (19), Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation Ministry (10), Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Ministry (10), North Central Provincial Council (6), Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Ministry (1), and the National Police Commission (1).
Dr. Jayatissa noted that Cabinet approval had earlier been granted on 30 December 2024 to appoint an officers’ committee headed by the Secretary to the Prime Minister to review the Government’s recruitment process and determine essential hiring requirements based on priorities and timelines.
