Fillip for education in Eastern province
By P. Krishnaswamy
Several academic activities and events took place in the Eastern
province this month, highlighting the rapid progress that the province
has made in the field of education in the post-terrorism era and the
prevailing atmosphere of freedom and zeal among the academic circles.
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Dr. Kiddnan Kobindarajah,
Vice Chancellor of the Eastern University |
New buildings for the different faculties of the Eastern University
were constructed at huge expenditure while more buildings are under
construction, according to the university sources. The university also
conducted the International Conference on "post-conflict recovery and
reconciliation and the role of science and technology in the process"
from September 12 -13.
Vice Chancellor of the University Dr. Kiddnan Kobindarajah who at the
inception of his speech at the conference expressed his gratitude to
President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Higher Education Minister S.B. Dissanayake
and other ministry senior officials for their continuous support to
develop the university in the post-terrorism period said that the
conference was organised with the aim of not only encouraging our
academics to do research that would be beneficial to the society in the
process of rehabilitation, reconstruction and reconciliation but also to
provide opportunities for them to collaborate with international
researchers to bring up the university as a world class university.
They had received more than 100 research papers in various
disciplines from academics from the universities all over the country
and 62 of them were accepted for presentation, he said. During the
period of terrorism the staff of the university were restricted in their
access to do research with international collaborators but at present
the situation is conducive to do research, he said. The Government is
very keen in supporting the academics to expand their research horizon
to contribute to national economy as well as to bring the universities
in the country in par with other leading universities of the world, he
said.
Prof. Syed Jamil Ahmed of University of Dhaka who was invited as the
keynote speaker spoke on "Of Arborescent Identity and Ethical
Imagination: Envisioning a Post-national Opposite Dream".
According to university sources, other activities for the development
of the university include a building complex for the Department of
Zoology that was constructed at Vantharumoolai at an expenditure of
Rs.199 Million.
A building complex for the Faculty of Commerce and Management that is
under construction at the cost of Rs. 230 Million is expected to be
completed next month. A building complex for the Faculty of Arts and
Culture is under construction at the cost of Rs.130 Million and is
expected to be complete next month. A building complex for the Library
is in nearing completion at a cost of Rs. 171 Million. A building
complex for the Faculty of Agriculture has been approved by UGC and is
waiting for Cabinet approval.
The cost is estimated to be Rs. 303 million, according to university
sources.
For the Faculty of Health Care Sciences, an amount of Rs.199 Millions
has been allocated. A professorial unit at the Teaching hospital in
Batticaloa at a cost of Rs,.360 Million will be constructed. The work is
expected to commence soon, the sources said.
In the year 2012, works numbering 15 had been completed under the
rehabilitation budget at a cost of Rs.100 million including the work on
construction of the parapet wall and drainage system. Under the
allocation for additional intake of new students Rs. 175 Million was
allocated. Work worth Rs. 135 million has already been completed which
include the new lecture halls, examination hall, gymnasium and the
semi-permanent hostels.
Rs.270 Million worth of building works have already commenced at the
Trincomalee Campus of the Eastern University and another Rs.1,200
million has been allocated for additional buildings.
To address the problem of hostel accommodation to the students, four
hostel projects have been approved and work on them will commence soon.
There will be two hostels for 400 male students at Vantharumoolai at a
cost of Rs. 400 Million, one hostel for the students of the Faculty of
Health Care Sciences at a cost of Rs.200 Million and two hostels for the
Swami Vipulananda Institute of Aesthetic Studies at a cost of Rs. 400
Million, according to the sources.
Providing details of the progress made in the field of education in
the province in the post-terrorism period, Provincial Director of
Education M.T.A.Nizam told the Sunday Observer that educational standard
of the province has risen to the fourth place on a national level in the
recent period compared its eighth or ninth place in the period of
terrorism. Over 57 new schools have been constructed with provision of
all educational facilities in the areas which were then occupied by the
LTTE and where the children's access to education was restricted. The
children are now breathing the air of freedom, they look cheerful and
are zealously attending schools, he said.
Under President Mahinda Rajapaksa's 1,000 school development program,
103 schools have been selected from the Eastern province for development
and a major part of the development work has been completed while the
remaining work is expected to be completed next year, he said.
A three storey building under the program of the "Mahindodaya
Technological Laboratories" was constructed at the T/Kantale Central
College and was declared open on September 13, 2013. This program is
undertaken simultaneously in several places under the vision of the
President for the educational and technological development of the
future generation, he said. The funds allocated by the Government for
educational development in the province have increased each year.
Compared allocations before the post-terrorism period the allocation is
several times more, he said.
In the period from 2005 - 2010 the education standard of the children
of the Tamil-speaking people of the province has recorded a marked
improvement, Nizam said. The participation of the children in all
competitive examinations has also risen significantly while their
eligibility to university entrance on merits basis too has risen on an
unprecedented level, he said. Unlike during the period of terrorism,
teachers are now willing to be posted to any remote areas since
transport facilities and freedom of movement has been ensured.
The South Eastern University in Oluvil, Ampara, has now been expanded
with many more faculties having been started and students belonging to
all three communities are studying, Nizam said.
About 4,434 teachers were recruited in provincial schools during the
period 2008 - 2012 and out of them 3,111 are Tamil medium teachers while
1,332 are Sinhala medium teachers. They include 1,449 teachers from the
Colleges of Education, 393 volunteer teachers , 29 part-time English
teachers, 85 NCC teachers and 2,478 graduate teachers, according details
furnished by the provincial department of education. |
