The Ceylon Teachers’ Union has strongly criticised a directive at Royal College Monaragala requiring female teachers to attend school in white sarees, calling the enforcement inappropriate and harmful.
CTU Secretary Joseph Stalin said the move has created serious difficulties for teachers, with external pressures being exerted to enforce the dress code. He called the compulsion “entirely wrong” given clear warnings about the hardships it causes.
Stalin noted that the Ministry of Education has already issued written instructions on teacher dress codes, making the school-level enforcement of a stricter rule inappropriate.
The union warned that if education authorities fail to address the matter with proper consideration for teachers’ well-being, the CTU will intervene directly.
The dispute highlights tensions between school-level administration and national education policy, with the teachers’ union positioning itself as a check against localised overreach on working conditions.
