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Minister of Human Resource Development, Education and Cultural Affairs Dr. Karunasena Kodithuwakku, during his recent visit to UNESCO to represent Sri Lanka at 32nd General Assembly sessions held this year had the opportunity of meeting and holding bi - lateral discussions with several Ministers of Education on issues concerning General and Higher Education.

The discussions Dr. Kodithuwakku had with the Minister of Education of the Union Government of India Prof. Dr. Murali Manohar Joshi he was able to follow up important matters on which he had initiated discussions with in Delhi in July this year whilst attending the conference of on 'Dialogue in Civilisation, a press release said.

One such matter was the need to overcome the shortage of placements at higher Education Institutes and Universities in Sri Lanka for Sri Lankan students with Advanced Level qualifications. Around 6000 students from Sri Lanka study in Higher Education Institutes and Universities in India and minister Joshi has instructed officials to arrange organising an "Indian University Fare" in Sri Lanka to ensure that prospective Sri Lankan students are apprised of the opportunities available within India and the procedures to be followed for that purpose, without having to go through intermediaries.

This would in some measure alleviate the ad hoc basis on which students have had to, at present, search for information seeking at times the support of various agency arrangements. The proposed measures are to be followed with formal agreements between the two countries, the release said.

Manohar Joshi has agreed to set up an Institute of Technology (IOT) similar to Indian Institutes of Technology (IITS) which were set up in India at the initiative and invitation of the Prime Minister Javaharlal Nehru immediately after Independence with the assistance of leading developed countries. IITS, together with Institutes of Management (IIMS) that were set up at about the same time, contributed to the propelling of the development of effort of India.

IOT will initially have an affiliation to the Chennai Institute of Technology and would therefore have better prospects of sourcing the teachers and other resources there from. It has also been decided to appoint one of the ex-presidents of an Indian IIT to prepare the project proposal without delay in order that action could be taken to initiate its implementation when Hon Manohar Joshi visits Sri Lanka in the near future.

In addition minister Manohar has offered to support a well planned collaboration with the Institute of Indigenous Medicine in Sri Lanka with a similar institute in India for which a proposal should be initiated from Sri Lanka, the release said.

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