CTTU protests shortage of Tamil text books

[TamilNet, Sunday, 25 April 1999, 13:33 GMT]
Although the second term of all government schools in the island begins on Monday, only about fifty percent of textbooks under the new education reforms have been supplied to Tamil medium schools in the country, claims twenty thousand member- strong Ceylon Tamil Teachers' Union [CTTU].

According to reports from districts in the Tamil dominated north east province, except Tamil, Religion and Sinhala [to teach Sinhala language to Tamil students], text books for other subjects for Year 6 students have not been supplied to schools in the Jaffna peninsula.

Not a single textbook for Year 9 has been supplied to schools in the Tiger- controlled Mullaitivu district upto now, CTTU sources said.

The science textbooks for Year 9 have been supplied to all Sinhala medium schools in the country, yet not a single Tamil medium school in the country has been supplied with this textbook, sources said further.

The distribution of textbooks under the new education reforms to Tamil medium schools in the country is still in a mess as government schools reopen on April 26 for second term, said Mr.T.Mahasivam, General Secretary of the CTTU.

He added that several requests had been made to the union to take steps to show the displeasure of the students, parents and teachers to the government by organising mass protests.

He further said that the union was seriously considering a proposal to stage a one-day token strike by its members throughout the north east province if the Ministry of Education and Higher Education failed to supply all textbooks to Tamil medium schools in the country before the end of May.

Meanwhile, the Batticaloa Education Development Council has donated books worth several thousand rupees to students in LTTE controlled areas in the Vanni. These books would be distributed among advanced level students in Vanni area by the North East Provincial Ministry of Education, Cultural Affairs and Sports.

Mr.S.S.Manoharan, Director of Education, Batticaloa Zone, handed over these books to Mr.Sundaram Divakalala, Secretary, Provincial Ministry of Education, on Thursday at the ministry office, on behalf of the Batticaloa Education Development Council.