National Languages and Social Integration Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara is setting an example to his staff and the public by learning to speak in Tamil.
Sources close to the Minister said that the Minister has instructed his personal and Ministry staff to learn Sinhala or Tamil, depending on their native language. All Sinhalese officers will have to learn Tamil for a minimum of four hours a week. Tamil officers too will have to learn Sinhala in a similar way. The Minister has taken the lead for this initiative by attending a class himself.
“The Minister feels that it would be appropriate for those at the Ministry to speak each other’s language first, before popularizing the idea in the wider society. Hence this initiative,” the sources said.
The Ministry plans to establish language societies at village level to enable Sinhalese villagers to learn Tamil and vice versa.