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| Wednesday, 21 January 2004 |
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by N. U. Abdul Razzak reporting from the Maldives Foreign Minister Tyronne Fernando together with his counterpart Foreign Minister Fathulla Jameel of the Maldives jointly inaugurated on Sunday morning the construction of the Central Library which is to be built by the Government of Sri Lanka at a cost of Rs 160 million as a gift from the people of Sri Lanka to the people of the Maldives to symbolize the friendship and cooperation between the two countries particularly in the field of education. Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, Minister Fernando emphasized the value of education and the role that libraries play in furtherance of such education. He said that one distinguishing feature of humans from animals is the pursuit of education by humans to further the creativeness and to achieve development. He was happy to associate himself with the project as a friend of the Maldives with a long association with the country over the past 25 years. Foreign Minister Jameel addressing the gathering stressed the long and memorable association he personally shared with Minister Fernando and he was happy to witness the political career of Minister Fernando on the rise. He said Sri Lanka remained the only gateway for the Maldivians in the past for education and training and they were much grateful for Sri Lanka for assisting them in the field of education particularly after switching over to English education with teachers and curriculum developers and school administrators. He thanked the Government of Sri Lanka particularly the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe for the acceleration of the project. The Central Library would be the largest library in the Maldives and would eventually serve as the library eventually when the College of Higher Education is elevated to the status of fully-pledged university. At the moment the college has six faculties and five centers looking after the needs of higher education. Minister of Education, Dr. Mahmood Shaugee thanked the Minister for his presence in the Maldives to inaugurate the project and for the Government and the people of Sri Lanka for the valuable gift that would leave a lasting impression and a worthy contribution for the development of education in the Maldivies. The library itself would bring together the separate small libraries and different faculties under one roof with more modern facilities and technology. He thanked all those who were associated with the project from its planning and designing and the others who were involved at different administrative levels of the two governments for making it possible and he believed the contractors of the project too would contribute towards realizing the building within the expectations of excellence. The Rector of the college, Dr. Hassan Hameed who welcomed the distinguished guests, traced the history of the project and said that a library is not only to develop human knowledge but also is a institution for developing the human soul and would assist the students not only to be touch with the books in its collection but also would keep them in touch with libraries in the wider world through the Internet. The Central Library is the outcome of the state visit of President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga during her state visit in 1998 to the Maldives. An MoU signed between the Ministers of Education of both countries for the Government of Sri Lanka undertook the construction of a 'physical structure' as a 'gesture of goodwill' to symbolize the friendship and cooperation of Sri Lanka towards the Maldives especially in field of Education. After the Maldives changed over to English education in the early 1960s large numbers of Sri Lankan teachers began to come to the Maldives. From early 1960s to the mid 1980s, the Sri Lankan teachers were in a greater majority in schools in the Maldives and since then the Sri Lankan teacher population began to decline gradually and by last year, the number had come down to just one Sri Lankan teacher in every four expatriate teacher. Several Cabinet Ministers also attended the ceremony from the Maldives along with senior civil servants, the local diplomats and a technical team from Sri Lanka as well as representatives from contracting firm of the project. The two Ministers inaugurated the construction activities by unveiling a plaque to commemorate the occasion. Foreign Minister Fernando, who also met the Education Minister Dr Shaugee separately for official discussions on further cooperation was due to meet the Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom on Monday morning and later have talks with Foreign Minister Fathulla Jameel and also with new Minister of Planning and National Development Dr Hamdoon Hameed. |
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