The Education Minister and Agriculture Miniser of the Northern Province, Kurukularaja and Iyngaranesan respectively, slammed the Sri Lankan army's encroachment on the education of Tamil children in the North-East, stating that "the army does not need to help our children".
Speaking at school prize giving event in Kilinochchi at the weekend, Education Minister Kurukularaja said,
"There is no reason whatsoever for the Sri Lankan army to enter schools in the North. If they wish to help they should via the Education Department. Instead, most of the military go directly into the schools and offer help. Not only does this affect the natural state, but it affects the mental state of the students when the army enter the schools."
Outlining the extensive work done by the Tamils living abroad, Kurukularaja called for a mechanism to be established to ensure that the millions given by the Tamil diaspora reach those who need it most.
Speaking at a similar event in Vellaangulam, Mannar, the Agriculture Minister said,
“Currently, there is army involvement in the education system, as there is in every other system in Sri Lanka. In line with this, university freshers are being taken to military camps and given leadership training."
This against not just democracy but also against the growth of the education, he said, before adding,
"The army's leadership training is to bring in the mindset of obeying leadership instead of becoming a leader."
See our earlier posts on the Sri Lankan military's involvement with Tamil school children in the North-East:
Exam prep for school girls in Jaffna (24 Aug 2013)
Army welcomes Tamil children to new pre-school (09 Aug 2013)
Milking militarisation (28 Jul 2013)
Military educational scholarships allocated to the North-East (05 Jul 2013)
Army coordinates dental clinic for school children (06 May 2013)
Tamil pupils transported to Army cinema to watch Singhalese movie (02 Mar 2013)
Kindergarten to be operated by Sri Lankan Air Force (16 Jan 2013)
Military makes up for 'lack of teachers' in Kilinochchi (05 Jan 2013)
Army teaches Sinhalese to Tamil schoolchildren (16 Nov 2012)
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