Tamil Nadu   

105 refugee students get hall tickets

— Photo: S.S. Kumar

P.M. Amza, Sri Lanka Deputy High Commissioner in Chennai, hands over hall tickets to the Sri Lankan students in Chennai on Friday. M. Kutralingham, Secretary, Tamil Nadu School Education, and S.C. Chandrahasan (third from left), Treasurer, Organisation for the Eelam Refugees Rehabilitation, are in the picture.

CHENNAI: The examination hall tickets presented to 105 Sri Lankan refugee students, at a ceremony held at the Sri Lankan Deputy High Commission here on Friday, seemed like awards in themselves.

For the students who had struggled to get to this level, accepting the tickets was a great moment; an occasion which most other students would have taken for granted.

For the second consecutive year, the Department of Examinations of Sri Lanka will conduct the G.C.E. Ordinary Level (O’Level) examinations for Sri Lankan refugee students in Chennai from December 10 to 20.

Speaking on the occasion, Deputy High Commissioner P.M. Amza said the Government of Sri Lanka was keen to hold this examination in Chennai to show its commitment towards displaced nationals living in Tamil Nadu due to circumstances beyond their control.

He extended his gratitude to the Department of School Education, Government of Tamil Nadu, for the support they had received.

S.C. Chandrahasan of the Organisation for Eelam Refugee Rehabilitation (OfERR) said these kinds of initiatives would help bring back peace to the island nation. Mr. Chandrahasan praised the Tamil Nadu and Indian governments for their continued support. “Nowhere else in the world will you see a country giving more to refugees than it does to its own people. Allowing the O’Level examinations to be carried out in this manner and providing all the support towards its success for the second year in a row is a good example of this,” he said.

Mr. Chandrahasan said the 105 students were from the 117 camps across Tamil Nadu. “The students were taken to the Mandapam camp in Rameshwaram and given special classes. The Education Department helped us a lot; they even provided buses to transport the students,” he said.

In a note to the children, Mr. Chandrahasan said their challenge had just begun. The students had to study in three months what students in Sri Lanka studied over a year. “The spirit of the students who performed well last year was the guiding factor for us to continue our efforts this year. Their performance gives us credibility.”

Chief guest of the event M. Kutralingham, Secretary, School Education, said the event was a historic one. “The government of Tamil Nadu is happy to extend all possible support for the students,” he said. He also stressed that the Tamil Nadu Government was committed to continue its assistance to fulfil the educational needs of the students of the refugee community.

Deputy Commissioner, Department of Examinations, Sri Lanka, A. Sivalingam and Assistant Commissioner, Department of Examinations, Sri Lanka, K.P. Munagama were present. Mr. Munagama said there were plans to set up other facilities for the students in the future.

“Education is one area where both sides of the conflict in Sri Lanka agree on,” he said.

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