Tamil schools don't get computers

[TamilNet, Monday, 23 April 2001, 20:07 GMT]
"Tamil medium national schools in the northeast province have not been supplied with computers and printers although the Ministry of Education has long since distributed them to national schools in other parts of the country", said the President of the Ceylon Tamil Teachers Union Mr.S.Thandayuthapani. "The computers and printers were promised last year and teachers were trained for handling them. We have got nothing so far despite several appeals," he added.

Important schools in each province that are selected and run by the central government are called national schools. All other schools come under the provincial administration. There are about thirty-two national schools in the northeast province. Of these, twenty-seven are Tamil medium national schools.

Mr.S.Thandayuthapani, President of the Ceylon Tamil Teachers'Union. Photo:TamilNet

Last year in February, the Science and Technology Unit of the Ministry of Education summoned all Principals in the island to a conference at Navarangahala Hall in Colombo. At that conference the then Minister of Education and Higher Education handed over letters to all principals stating that each national school would be supplied with 4 computers and a printer.

Furthermore they were informed to make arrangements in their respective schools to install these computers and printers. Later teachers who were selected from the northeastern province to handle these computers and printers were trained at Anuradhapura for a month.

"But up to now not a single computer and printer has been distributed to the national schools in the northeast province as assured last year in letters given by the then Minister of Education", said Mr.Thandayuthapani.

Mr.Thandayuthapani further said; "We brought this to the notice of the new Minister of Education Mr. Susil Premajayantha when he discussed the shortcomings of the national schools in the northeast province at a conference with us recently. The new Minister assured us that he would look into the matter immediately. But nothing happened".

"A conference was held at the Northeast Provincial Ministry of Education in January this year regarding the introduction of computer education in schools in the northeast province. One of the participants was Mr.S.Sivathasan, Presidential Advisor. We informed him that although one year had passed, national schools in northeast province were not supplied with computers and printers as assured by the Ministry of Education. Mr.Sivathasan replied that he would bring this matter to the notice of the President immediately. But even then we are still waiting for the computers and printers," said Mr.Thandayuthapani, who is also a principal of a national school -Trincomalee Sri Koneswara Hindu College.

Meanwhile Mr.Mahasivam, General Secretary of the CTTU said: "Sinhala medium national schools in other provinces except northeast have got computers and printers as assured by the Ministry of Education. Tamil medium national schools in these provinces have not been supplied with computers and printers for reasons not known".