|
|
|
| Sunday, 12 February 2006 |
 |
|
 |
Junior Observer |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
World Bank aid to develop education The Finance and Planning Ministry recently entered into an agreement with the World Bank to receive loans and assistance to develop Sri Lanka's education sector and road network. Accordingly, the World Bank will provide Rs. 16 billion for these projects.
The package includes a 60 million US dollar grant for the education sector and 100 million US dollars credit for the road sector. This assistance represents the largest grant and the largest investment credit the World Bank has given to Sri Lanka. The grant for education sector development will support the Government's education programmes during the next five years, from 2006 to 2010, at the rate of Rs. 1,200 million per year. It will cover grades 1 to 13. It aims to promote equitable access to basic and secondary education by providing incentives for school attendance, expanding and upgrading the school network, strengthening education programmes for children with special learning needs, and non-formal education programmes for adolescents, improving the quality of education through the development of the curriculum, enhancing teacher motivation, skills and performance, modernising examinations and testing and enhancing the efficiency and equity of resource allocation and distribution within the education system. It will fund the Government's objective of extending the compulsory education period from grade one to nine, and developing high quality schools island-wide. 58th Independence Day celebrated in grand style
The Galle Face Green in Colombo was the stage for Sri Lanka's 58th Independence Day celebrations, held on February 4. The grand but solemn ceremony was the first to be conducted under the leadership of the country's fifth Executive President, Mahinda Rajapakse, and was attended by thousands of people, including state and party leaders, religious dignitaries and diplomatic representatives. The ceremony started with the President hoisting the National Flag to the beat of drums and the blowing of conch shells. This was followed by the singing of the National Anthem by schoolgirls representing Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim communities, from Colombo and outstation schools.
Another group of schoolgirls sang the Jaya Mangala Gatha. Silence was then observed in memory of fallen heroes. The President's address to the nation was followed by a colourful march past of the Army, Navy and Air Force, together with an aerial display of aircraft and helicopters by the Air Force, and a parade of naval fleet in the sea, by the Navy. Schoolchildren representing all provinces participated in a colourful march past. Improving plantation sector education Assistance has been pledged by several donor countries to develop education in the plantation sector, Central Provincial Chief Minister Sarath Ekanayake said recently. Addressing a recent workshop, he said that they had also received 27 million US dollars to improve informal education in the sector. The Indian Assistant High Commissioner in Kandy and Provincial Minister of Tamil Education too have initiated several programmes to improve estate sector education. However, the sector keeps lagging behind, due to the lack of teachers. Although they wanted to recruit 900 teachers to plantation sector schools last year, they fell short of 400. It is vital that they draw up effective plans to recruit qualified teachers to schools in these areas, the Chief Minister said. Provincial Minister of Industries, Sports, Estate Infrastructure and
Tamil Education S. Arulsamy called on the participants of the workshop to
come out with workable and effective suggestions to improve education in
the plantation sector.
|
|
| News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
| Politics | Produced by Lake House |
