by Ananda Kannangara
Education Minister Bandula Gunawardane on Friday highly valued the importance of creating peace and harmony among schoolchildren in the country and said that introducing the Tri- Lingual Education System in schools is vital to make this concept a reality.
Referring to a ceremony attended by him recently to mark Universal Children’s Day, Minister Gunawardane said steps have been taken by the Education Department to teach Sinhalese, English and Tamil to children in all schools.
“In order so that, the language barrier among children could also be solved,”. Minister Gunawardane told the Sunday Observer that it is also the responsibility of elders to prevent children being divided ethnically and they should teach them the value of co-existence from their younger days. He said taking part in sports activities by children of various ethnic groups is also vital to build up a peaceful society.
“In addition to sports activities, student exchange programs must also be conducted in future, so that children from Southern schools could visit the Northern schools and vise versa,” he said.