Teachers to plantation schools from the area - Minister Thondaman

by S. Thillainathan

Minister of Livestock and Rural Community Development Arumugam Thondaman said that he is appointing people from plantation areas as teachers to eliminate teacher-transfer problems and to prevent the shortage of teachers in plantation schools.Minister Thondaman said 352 graduates have been appointed in plantation government schools.

The Minister told this newspaper in an exclusive interview: "Almost all estate line rooms of workers are given power from the National Grid.

This has enabled children of plantation workers to concentrate on their studies.

Due to these developments in the plantations sector, today many plantation children are able to enter universities and graduate in Science, Arts and Commerce subjects.

"Today children from the estates need not walk several kilometres to school because we are providing them with adequate public transport. My ministry with funds provided by the Central Government and the Provincial Council have constructed 64 kilometres of estate road, the minister said.

Because alcoholism has become a social problem in the estates, the Minister said that he had taken action to close all licensed liquor shops in the estates. Since there is a severe shortage of line rooms in the estates, the Government has made arrangement with the Indian government to build 4,000 houses for estate workers.Minister Thondaman said the Ceylon Workers Congress will commence discussion with the Planters Association on the Collective Agreement to give a reasonable wage increase to plantation workers.