Surveys to protect language rights

Mohammed Naalir

The State Language Commission will conduct an islandwide survey whether officers serve minority communities during duty. The survey is to be conducted covering 50 Government and private offices.

The first survey was held at the Balangoda Divisional Secretariat on October 12. The survey will be conducted in two parts - in the first a census will be conducted on the use of language in the use of human resources and physical resources in the offices and in the second, views will be obtained from the minority communities who come to the office to get their work done, Chairman of Official Language Commission Rajah Collure said.

Survey will be conducted in the North and East where Tamil is the official language, whether the Sinhala speaking minority community get their services done. The Survey will be conducted at the Batticaloa District Secretariat, Vavuniya District Secretariat and Divisional Secretariat Offices.

The Commission intends to complete the survey by December 15 and to prepare two reports. On the basis of the reports the Commission will prepare a common single report to bring to the notice of the Government the present status in the use of language, Collure added.