How to become a become school teacher in Sri Lanka (Requirements, skills, and Needed qualifications)

Becoming a school teacher in Sri Lanka or a private sector tuition teacher is a dream for many students. Then comes the question, how do you become a teacher? Most of the time, these questions remain unanswered and students follow whatever alternative path they can take, as information about the path to becoming a teacher is not in abundance. So, today we are going to discuss the skills, qualifications, and requirements to become a teacher in Sri Lanka.

First things first, teacher training!

Teacher training i.e. academic training to become a teacher in Sri Lanka is essential for your path. To become a school teacher, you must have a valuable teaching certificate from the National College of Education (Vidhya Peeta). You can get a national diploma from these institutions. Any equivalent qualification from a private or local institution may also be valid. To get teaching jobs, you need to pass written exams and a selection process that can be in the form of an interview. Along with a teaching certificate, having an associate degree in the field of teaching is now a must for teachers. In addition to the training you receive, there are certain skills and characteristics that you must possess in order to become a successful teacher or educator.

Teaching skills

A strong understanding of languages is a must for teaching positions. If you are a government teacher, it is necessary to be fluent in Sinhala and English, and if you are a private teacher or tutor, you will need to be fluent in English. An ability to understand the curriculum/curriculum is essential. Good communication skills are key to being great at teaching, as you need to communicate effectively with your students every day.

Educate with passion!

While the teaching requirements technically mean obtaining a teaching certification and passing entrance exams, it is much more than that. Indeed, teaching is a job that you must do with passion. Since these are academic jobs, you tend to lose interest, but you will be expected to pursue teaching jobs with the same passion every day. Keep in mind that your students will understand what you are teaching with a positive mindset if you follow a positive and friendly nature.

Respect and acceptance!

Teaching in school means that you must respect your fellow teachers and academic staff. They will guide, guide and advise you on how to do your teaching job better. Accepting their suggestions, advice, and instructions can help you hone your skills as an educator. It is also important to listen to your students and their feedback, as they know better how teaching comes to them. Therefore, always accept feedback with a positive attitude. Be sure to evaluate yourself and take steps to improve your teaching methods.

What do you win?

Becoming a teacher can be beneficial for you in many ways. First, it provides you with a good income and financial stability. Job security in this field is very strong, so you don’t have to worry about losing your job while working. Teaching jobs have a good reputation in the community, so your social standing is still worth when you teach (which doesn’t necessarily mean other jobs aren’t as good). Most public teachers receive other benefits such as loan plans, insurance, and retirement plans that help you live a good life. Meanwhile, teachers usually work fewer hours than most other employees, and their working day is limited to a maximum of 7 hours. You will also get school holidays 2-3 times a year, which cannot be said for any other employee!

Teacher salary in Sri Lanka

The salary of a teacher in Sri Lanka usually ranges from LKR 25,000 to LKR 80,000 or more. A government teacher’s salary increases with his years of service until the day he retires. For private school private teachers, they can earn over LKR 80,000 depending on their role and school. Pre-school teachers can earn up to LKR 60,000 in private institutions.

what are the qualities of a good teacher

Empathy

Empathy is one of the most important good qualities for a teacher. Let us understand this property through an example.

Imagine that you are in your classroom and there is a student who consistently performs poorly on their tests. I advised them to study and yet they keep getting low grades. Now, it is only natural that you feel upset because despite your efforts, the baby is not doing well. However, you do not know what is going on inside them and what kind of conditions they are in. What happens if a child has problems with his family or if he has learning difficulties? As a teacher, you must put yourself in their position and think like your student. This is empathy.

Creativity

Do you remember what you were like when you were a student? Did you enjoy your classes or did you get bored during the lessons? As a teacher, you need to make sure that your students don’t get bored. It is common for students to lose interest and attention. How do you make sure they listen to you? The answer is simple, get creative! An important quality of an ideal teacher is creativity. By being creative, you can make your classes fun. You can use the help of various online teaching tools to add life to your classroom. With more and more people moving towards online classes and online teaching, the need for creativity in the classroom becomes more important.

Communication

Speaking about the good qualities of a teacher, communication skills cannot be missed. When it comes to communication, a lot can go wrong. It is said that the biggest problem with communication is the misunderstanding that occurs. Simply put, as a teacher, you may think that you communicate well. But there are some points to keep in mind:
Always ask for feedback and ask your students if they understand
Create a platform for open communication
Speak in your regional language and reassure your students that the classroom is a safe place
When the teacher takes on a stern and stern role and communication becomes one-way, there will not be much learning. Neither to the student nor to the teacher.
Communication does not always have to be verbal, the teacher will have to pick up on the non-verbal cues and this is where the true qualities of a teacher are tested. It is important for teachers to have strong verbal and non-verbal communication skills.

Interpersonal skills

How well you communicate with your students and their parents will determine the nature of your communication with them. Interpersonal communication is important in establishing strong interpersonal relationships. As mentioned above, the teacher should aim at the all-round development of the student. For example, it’s not just your education that matters. It is his behaviour, manners, attitude and many other aspects as well. To ensure students achieve this, the teacher must have strong interpersonal skills. So that they can communicate with their students and solve their problems, if any.

Posture

Students often felt depressed and frustrated. If a teacher has the quality of always being positive, they can help students in many ways. A positive attitude and a positive relationship between students and teachers is the most important thing necessary to ensure effective learning.

Fair

The teacher must treat all his students equally. Fairness is most important qualities of effective any type teachers. When the teacher is neutral, respect is earned and students feel safe and valued in the classroom. Creating a fair classroom environment will promote trust and respect among students, and is a great quality for your students’ education.

A sense of humor

Although most people do not consider humor a quality, it is one of the most important qualities of an ideal teacher. When class gets boring, who doesn’t love to laugh and tell some jokes? Teachers who have a sense of humor and fun are able to relate easily to students and can create a fun environment. By being funny we don’t just mean telling jokes, being able to enjoy jokes and little naughty activities for students is also part of being funny.

Consistent

Consistency helps teachers and students alike. Helps teachers feel more organized. Being organized and well-planned removes stress and pressure. By consistency, we mean having a routine and a regimen. When there is a proper routine, respect for students and parents increases.

Bonus

Teachers must be rewarding and must recognize the efforts of their students. When teachers say “good work”,“well done” etc. and reward the students with a good word of encouragement, it motivates them to do better and makes them better teachers. Therefore, when the question arises what are the most important qualities of a good teacher, this quality cannot be overlooked.

Trustworthy

A trustworthy teacher is someone who is dedicated to their work and is trustworthy. Reliability is one of the best qualities of a teacher. Trustworthy teachers know how to make appropriate decisions and assessments. Since the future of the student rests with the teacher, it is important for students to study with teachers who are trustworthy and for teachers to cultivate the quality of trust in their students.

Passionate

Passion is something every teacher should have. Teaching is not an easy job. There are many problems that teachers face in their daily lives. From low student engagement to less interaction, there are many issues. Now, with online teaching and live classes, teachers are facing even bigger problems. Passion is the main quality that helps teachers overcome any problem they face. With passion and the right online teaching platform, teachers can strive for success.

Motivational

Low motivation to study and learn is one of the major concerns of all parents, teachers and students around the world. Teachers can play a very important role in motivating their students. As mentioned above, a little pat on the back can go a long way. Fast food, monetary appreciation, teamwork, etc. These are some of the methods that teachers can apply to motivate their students. When a teacher is naturally motivated, when he asks his students to do more and pushes them to do their best, the results are amazing.
13. Active listening
Often times, students want someone to listen to them. You can only be a great teacher when you understand what your students need and understand what they want, you have to listen.

Feed

A caring teacher encourages a healthy classroom. There is enough space for opinions, comments and errors. Students often need someone to talk to about their problems and mistakes. When teachers treat them roughly, there is a possibility that students will misbehave. When the teacher cares, the students feel safe, which increases the respect between the students and the teacher. If students have social or behavioral disabilities, a caring teacher can be of great help to them.

Honesty

Students look up to their teachers, and honesty is one of the important qualities students need. Honesty towards the work you do and your students and colleagues is paramount. Often a package, honesty comes along with qualities like responsibility, courage, and trustworthiness.

Punctuality

Punctuality and adherence to schedules are among the most necessary qualities of an ideal teacher. Students learn from you and instill in them a sense of punctuality, you have to live up to that. In this quality, reflects your responsibility as a teacher.

Willingness to learn

Teaching and learning go hand in hand. A good teacher never stops learning. With the education sector changing every day, teachers need to learn and improve their skills. For example, with online classes, teachers need to familiarize themselves with live classes and online teaching. As easy as using an online teaching app like Teachmint is for teachers to take live lessons, teachers should always be willing to learn new things.

Organizational skills

This quality helps teachers to be punctual and disciplined. Organization and planning are very important qualities of a good teacher. Imagine putting all your keys in a box without naming them. Your house keys, locker keys, your car and bike keys, all in one big box. If you are in a hurry and looking for your keys, imagine how much time you will spend finding the keys. Alternatively, if they are marked and saved separately, it will be easier for you. The same applies to your teaching job. If you are organized and planned it helps you to be on time and finish your lessons. This is an inevitable quality of teaching.

Ethics

Ethics is a standard set of values and beliefs that teachers must follow. It is important for teachers to have good moral principles. Ethics is what tells us what is right and what is wrong and prevents us from doing the wrong things. It is against teacher ethics to be unfair to students and to show prejudice towards students.

Dignity

Respect for humanity is extremely important. Since learning begins with teachers, it is very important that teachers respect everyone, regardless of gender, status, sect, or creed. There is no place for judgments and prejudices. This is one of the teaching characteristics that characterize teachers.

Where can you find a teacher vacancy?

Now that you know how to become a teacher, your skills, requirements, and qualifications, as well as what you’ll get from teaching, the question is where to find teaching jobs. You can find teacher jobs in the Official Gazette or easily at Onlinejobs.lk. Onlinejobs.lk offers more than 100 teaching job vacancies, where you can find the best job for you.