Thursday Mar 05, 2026
Thursday Mar 05, 2026
Thursday, 5 March 2026 03:51 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
The Cabinet of Ministers on Tuesday approved 15,839 recruitments across Ministries and Provincial Councils following a comprehensive review of public sector staffing requirements.
The decision comes after a committee of officials, headed by the Secretary to the Prime Minister, was appointed in December 2024 to assess recruitment needs based on institutional priorities, operational gaps, and time-bound requirements.
The committee was tasked with scrutinising requests from Ministries and Departments amid growing pressure to rationalise public sector employment while ensuring essential services are not disrupted.
“At its meeting on 12 February 2026, the committee evaluated vacancy submissions and forwarded its recommendations through the Prime Minister to the Cabinet, which granted final approval,” Cabinet Spokesman and Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa said at the weekly post-Cabinet meeting media briefing yesterday.
Accordingly, the largest share of new recruitments will go to the Defence Ministry, with 9,794 vacancies approved, while the Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs Ministry followed with 1,915 positions, and the Health and Mass Media Ministry received approval for 776 posts.
The Ports and Civil Aviation Services Ministry secured 339 positions, and the Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education Ministry was cleared to fill 300 vacancies. The Science and Technology Ministry will recruit 201 personnel, while the Finance, Planning and Economic Development Ministry received approval for 214 positions. The Environment Ministry was allocated 213 vacancies, and the Transport, Highways and Urban Development Ministry was granted 121 posts.
Other Ministries received comparatively smaller allocations, including Justice and National Integration with 67 positions, Public Administration with 66, Agriculture with 60, Trade and Commerce with 50, and several ministries receiving fewer than 20 approvals each.
Provincial Councils will also see significant recruitment activity. The Northern Provincial Council received approval for 411 positions, the North Western Provincial Council 401, the Eastern Provincial Council 282, Sabaragamuwa 236, Uva 146, North Central 66, and the Central Provincial Council 22.
Dr. Jayatissa said the scale and distribution of appointments suggest a targeted approach rather than a blanket expansion of the public service. “The review mechanism aims to balance fiscal discipline with service delivery requirements, particularly in sectors deemed critical to national security, health, infrastructure, and regional administration,” he added.
