According to the ministry, 66,991 of the applicants are currently employed in the public service, while 96,442 candidates have applied from outside the state sector.
The ministry also stated that 323 specially-abled applicants have submitted applications for the examination.
The competitive examination was held yesterday at 1,048 examination centres across the island to fill teacher vacancies in Sinhala, Tamil, and English medium streams in both national and provincial schools.
The Ministry of Education further noted that a similar recruitment examination planned by the Department of Examinations in 2023 for graduate teachers already serving in the public sector had been suspended following the filing of three fundamental rights petitions before the Supreme Court and a separate case before the Court of Appeal.
