Economic Burden and Mental Health Distress Among Sri Lankan Government School Teachers
Economic Burden and Mental Health Distress Among Government School Teachers in Sri Lanka
A research study highlights how inadequate income, rising household expenses, reduced savings and the need for supplementary employment are affecting the lifestyle and psychological well-being of government school teachers.
Overview of the Research
Teachers perform a major role in the academic, personal and social development of children. However, the economic difficulties experienced in Sri Lanka have placed considerable pressure on teachers and their families.
A study published in BMC Psychology in 2025 examined the relationship between financial hardship and psychological distress among government school teachers in Sri Lanka.
The researchers found that many participating teachers were unable to meet their monthly household needs using their regular income. Teachers consequently reduced essential expenditure, limited savings and searched for additional sources of income.
How the Study Was Conducted
Major Financial Findings
Changes in Food and Lifestyle
Financial pressure was also associated with substantial changes in the participants’ food consumption and household spending.
These findings raise concerns about nutrition, household health and the long-term well-being of teachers and their families.
Mental Health Findings
The study recorded a mean GHQ-12 score of 15.15. Participants were classified into different levels of psychological distress according to their scores.
The research identified two closely connected dimensions of teacher mental health: social dysfunction and depression and anxiety.
Factors Associated with Greater Distress
The statistical analysis indicated that several financial and lifestyle conditions were associated with increased psychological distress.
Why These Findings Matter
Teacher well-being is directly connected to classroom performance, lesson preparation, student support and the overall quality of education.
Teachers who must spend additional time on private tutoring, farming, self-employment, online work or other secondary occupations may have less time for professional preparation, family responsibilities, recreation and rest.
The researchers therefore emphasize the importance of long-term policies that improve the financial security, resilience, work-life balance and psychological well-being of teachers.
Recommendations Highlighted by the Study
Important Research Limitations
The findings should be interpreted carefully. The survey was cross-sectional, meaning that it identified associations but cannot prove that financial hardship directly caused the reported mental health outcomes.
The research included 283 government school teachers and used an online, self-administered questionnaire. All completed responses were submitted using the Sinhala version of the questionnaire, while the Tamil version received no responses.
The findings therefore cannot automatically be generalized to every teacher, private school teacher or international school teacher in Sri Lanka.
සිංහල සාරාංශය
ශ්රී ලංකාවේ රජයේ පාසල් ගුරුවරුන් මුහුණ දෙන ආර්ථික පීඩනය සහ මානසික අපහසුතා අතර සම්බන්ධතාවය පිළිබඳව මෙම අධ්යයනය සිදු කර ඇත. රජයේ පාසල් ගුරුවරුන් 283 දෙනෙකු අන්තර්ජාලය හරහා පවත්වන ලද සමීක්ෂණයට සහභාගී වී ඇත.
සහභාගී වූ ගුරුවරුන්ගෙන් 81.6%ක් තම මාසික පවුල් ආදායම අවශ්යතා සපුරාලීමට ප්රමාණවත් නොවන බව සඳහන් කර ඇත. 77.7%ක් මාසික ඉතිරිකිරීම් සීමා කර ඇති අතර, 50.5%කට සාමාන්ය වියදම් පියවා ගැනීම සඳහා මසකට අමතර රුපියල් 15,000ත් 20,000ත් අතර මුදලක් අවශ්ය වී ඇත.
සහභාගී වූවන්ගෙන් 30.4%ක් දැඩි මානසික පීඩනයකට ලක්ව සිටින බව අධ්යයනයෙන් හඳුනාගෙන ඇත. ආදායම අඩුවීම, ඉතිරිකිරීම් නොමැති වීම, අත්යවශ්ය වියදම් කපා හැරීම සහ අමතර ආදායම් මාර්ග සෙවීමට සිදුවීම මානසික පීඩනය සමඟ සම්බන්ධ වී ඇත.
ගුරුවරුන්ගේ ආර්ථික ආරක්ෂාව සහ මානසික සෞඛ්යය වැඩිදියුණු කිරීම සඳහා දිගුකාලීන ප්රතිපත්ති, උපදේශන සේවා සහ මානසික සෞඛ්ය සහාය වැඩසටහන් අවශ්ය බව පර්යේෂකයන් නිර්දේශ කරයි.
தமிழ் சுருக்கம்
இலங்கையின் அரச பாடசாலை ஆசிரியர்கள் எதிர்கொள்ளும் பொருளாதாரச் சுமைக்கும் உளநல நெருக்கடிக்கும் இடையிலான தொடர்பை இந்த ஆய்வு ஆராய்ந்துள்ளது. இணையவழி வினாப்பத்திரத்தின் மூலம் 283 அரச பாடசாலை ஆசிரியர்களிடமிருந்து தகவல்கள் பெறப்பட்டன.
ஆய்வில் பங்கேற்ற ஆசிரியர்களில் 81.6% பேர் தங்களது மாதாந்த குடும்ப வருமானம் தேவைகளை நிறைவேற்றப் போதுமானதாக இல்லை என தெரிவித்துள்ளனர். 77.7% பேர் மாதாந்த சேமிப்பைக் குறைத்துள்ளதுடன், 50.5% பேருக்கு வழக்கமான செலவுகளை நிறைவேற்ற மாதம் மேலதிகமாக ரூ.15,000 முதல் ரூ.20,000 வரை தேவைப்பட்டதாக தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.
பங்கேற்ற ஆசிரியர்களில் 30.4% பேர் கடுமையான உளவியல் நெருக்கடியைக் கொண்டிருந்ததாக ஆய்வு கண்டறிந்துள்ளது. வருமான இழப்பு, சேமிப்பின்மை, அத்தியாவசிய செலவுகளைக் குறைத்தல் மற்றும் மேலதிக வருமானம் தேட வேண்டிய அழுத்தம் ஆகியவை உளநல நெருக்கடியுடன் தொடர்புடையவையாக இருந்தன.
ஆசிரியர்களின் பொருளாதாரப் பாதுகாப்பு, வாழ்க்கைத் தரம் மற்றும் உளநலத்தை மேம்படுத்துவதற்கான நீண்டகால கொள்கைகள், இரகசிய ஆலோசனைச் சேவைகள் மற்றும் உளவியல் ஆதரவுத் திட்டங்கள் நடைமுறைப்படுத்தப்பட வேண்டும் என ஆய்வாளர்கள் பரிந்துரைக்கின்றனர்.
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Research title: Examining the Economic Burden and Mental Health Distress Among Government School Teachers in Sri Lanka: A Cross-Sectional Study
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