The Grade One admission circular No: 23/ 2013 bans charging money for admitting students to Grade one.

However, the CTU says that this circular is being violated in schools islandwide.

Speaking, Ceylon Teachers' Union (CTU) General Secretary Joseph Stalin says that they have received numerous complaints to their hotline 0112458058 on this regard.

He says that many parents have claimed that their are being charged money in addition to the facilities and services' fees which was deemed legal by the government.

However, in addition to this, money is also being collected for reasons such as building repairs and painting, Stalin added.

He further said that some poverty stricken parents are so inconvenienced by this as they are forced to pawn their jewellery or obtain loans.