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by S. M. Jiffrey Abdeen, Kandy south group correspondent

Undergraduates should refrain from ragging newcomers. Instead they should welcome the newcomers with open arms, said Central Region Development Minister Tissa Attanayake.

Speaking at a ceremony to distribute material and financial assistance to three pre-schools in Medhamanuwara, he said newcomers must be made to feel comfortable in their new environment as some could be innocent and not aware of the pitfalls in the city life.

"This will help them to make a good start to their education. When they become seniors, they in turn will refrain from ragging," he told the ceremony at the Tamil School Urugala.

Children undergo hardships to enter universities. They undergo untold difficulties to enter the higher seats of learning. Having entered the universities, they are once again confronted with ragging, Attanayake said.

The Minister said the university is a place for the intelligentia which turns out professionals and others to provide services for the country.

But a small minority within that group is hell-bent on creating problems and disrupting the smooth functioning of these places with their antics like ragging. These are done for narrow political gains. These actions only bring disrespect to the institutions, Attanayake said.

The minister said pre-schools mould the minds of the little ones who come out into the open for the first time and learn to study and above all how to remain as groups.

Pre-schools are the foundation of education and it is from here they progress step by step. Therefore a good foundation is necessary, he said.

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