India will send Teacher Trainers to improve the education standards and meet growing needs and aspirations of Sri Lanka’s up country Tamil students, visiting Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday.
Sitharaman is on a three-day official visit to Sri Lanka and was the keynote speaker at “Naam 200” event to mark 200 years of arrival of the Indian – origin Tamil (IOT) community to Sri Lanka.
She emphasized the importance of education and pledged support to the IOT.
“Education transforms, empowers, and enhances your social mobility. It is for this reason; (the) Government of India has given special focus on educational support to you as part of its developmental partnership over decades,” she told the event held in Sugathadasa.
“Taking this forward, as part of our special package to IOTs, I am delighted to announce that we will soon send Teacher Trainers who will work with local Teachers and abreast them with latest developments in teaching field and enhance their teaching skills to meet growing needs and aspirations of students from Malayaha (upcountry) Tamils.”
“I am sure this Teacher Training programme along with other projects under the package will provide a holistic developmental framework for Malayaha Community and make an impact on their livelihood.”
She also pledged the Indian dedication to upgrade a vocational training centre in the central town of Hatton to assist the IOTs in enhancing skill requirements.
During her visit, Sitharaman virtually launched phase – 4 of the flagship Indian Housing Project for the construction of 10,000 houses in plantation areas of Sri Lanka along with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe and virtually inaugurated the upgraded Thondaman Vocational Training Center in Hatton, built with Indian government grant assistance.