By: Isuru Parakrama
Colombo (LNW): Upliftment path of plantation workers within the highlands shall be education which prioritises teacher training rather than the establishment of a university, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Mano Ganesan told the Chambers.
Joining the Parliament debate showcasing budgetary allocations for education on Tuesday (05), the Opposition MP emphasised that university education in the hill-country may become a priority, but only after the government erects a pathway of secondary, tertiary and higher secondary education.
“We have no Science, Maths, English and IT teachers. Hence, priority is the establishment of a special Teacher Training College based on affirmative principles and not a university in Nuwara Eliya today,” Ganesan said.
The much talked INR 750 million grant from India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi shall be used for this ‘noble’ purpose, the MP went on, adding that he is for the out of box mode as how the government of India maintains the Jaffna Cultural Centre.
“I submitted a proposal early this year in January to the Indian High Commissioner to revamp and enhance the scope of Ceylon Estate Workers Education Trust (CEWET), a registered IHC entity in Sri Lanka, and later in July to use the generous grant of the Prime Minister of India and work with Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Education in this regard,” the opposition lawmaker pointed out.
