Schools in Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo, will be closed for the next week due to a severe lack of fuel in the country. Food, medicine, and gasoline have been out of Sri Lanka’s reach since late last year since the country is in the grip of its worst economic crisis since it became independent in 1948. An imminent depletion of gasoline and diesel supplies in the nation has been predicted.
Last month, the country of 22 million people defaulted on a multimillion-dollar foreign loan payment as inflation topped 40%. As a result, seeing people lined up for hours or even days in order to fill up their cars outside of a gas station has become the norm.
The Ministry of Education has stated that schools in the nation’s capital are going to be closed for at least one week, citing “the transportation difficulties due to the current fuel crisis.” This announcement comes as the economic upheaval continues to intensify.
According to a circular issued by the Ministry of Education, all government and government-approved private schools in Colombo city boundaries will be closed for the next week.
A meeting of education officials is set for next Saturday to discuss whether or not classroom instruction will continue. For the time being, online education will take the place of it.
The statement follows a Friday directive by the Public Administration Ministry to shut down government offices and schools throughout the nation owing to a lack of fuel. In an effort to save gasoline, the administration authorized a four-day work week for public sector employees earlier this week.
The Ministry of Education has said that schools outside of Colombo, where transportation is less of a problem, would continue to operate in person.