Don’t ruin students’ future

President appeals to teachers:

Rohan MATHES in Tangalle

TANGALLE: President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday appealed to teachers to refrain from being political pawns and hold their innocent students as ransom in the process.

President Rajapaksa made this appeal when he addressed a rally in Tangalle, following the inauguration of the Tangalle-Beliatta Integrated Water Supply Scheme.

He explained that similar to Prabhakaran who was using the innocent civilians in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu for his egoistic and fascist objectives, the teachers too with deliberate intent or otherwise, were virtually using innocent students as ransom to win their unjust demands.

This attitude and practice, he pointed out, may boomerang against teachers and be counter-productive to them in the long-term. The Teachers whom the innocent students, traditionally adore and revere, may lose their respect and dignity extended to them, by their students.

“Examinations are the lifeblood of students’ future. Their future is highly examination-oriented. Their success in life and decision-making is predominantly based on success or failure in their examinations.

They should not be deprived of this right. Teachers should be realistic and be aware of this fact. They should avert the possibility of falling prey to unscrupulous political elements who strive to use the students as a shield, and destroy the future prospects of the students”, he stressed.

The President categorically stated that Sri Lanka is in no way a Failed State as some reactionary forces with vested interests, like to make out. Sri Lanka is fast becoming a sound and vibrant economy, and is moving in the right direction to economic prosperity.

“There has been a paradigm shift in our development and progress. We have confronted the tsunami successfully with resilience. We will develop the village first and develop the entire country according to a specific plan, steadily, despite the ongoing war, which we are also conducting victoriously.

We liberated the East which is fast-developing now. I wish to see this development in the North too, in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu,” President Rajapaksa reiterated.

He was of the view that the issues of poverty and unemployment are now being tackled successfully. The paddy farmer was obtaining an enhanced price for his paddy and is in a bargaining position now. The youth of the country had a choice and they are in a position to pick and choose any vocation or profession.

The once crumbling Government service was being consolidated and expanded gradually and systematically. None of the welfare facilities such as the Fertiliser Subsidy has been pruned by the government despite the odds.

Nevertheless, President Rajapaksa pointed out that all that development and progress was in vain, if the social, moral and cultural values deteriorated. To avert such a downfall, he had launched the Mathata Thitha programme. To protect the under-aged growing children from sexual corruption, he had also suspended the reception of material and information of a Pornographic and obscene nature, via the Internet.

He opined that the provision of potable water which is also correlated to good sanitation and health, in the Hambantota District was a burning issue for ages.

This crucial need is now accomplished for the people of the Hambantota District. The Hambantota District which was once one of the poorest in the island, is now being developed and uplifted steadily but surely.

The President thanked the UNICEF for their meritorious contribution in making Tangalle Water Supply Scheme a reality.

Pointing out that the purified water was supplied to the customer at a highly subsidized rate of around Rs.1.25, when it cost the government around Rs. 30 per unit, he urged the people to refrain from water wastage which he said was tantamount to treachery to the nation.

A sum of Rs. 28,000 million has been set aside for Water Resources Development, to solve the potable water crisis, President Rajapaksa added. Ministers Mahinda Amaraweera, Chamal Rajapaksa, A.L.M. Athaulla and the UNICEF Representative in Sri Lanka, Philippe Duamelle also addressed the ceremony.

The Tangalle-Beliatte Integrated Water Supply Scheme which was officially commissioned by President Rajapaksa yesterday, was built at a cost of Rs.1.07 billion. It is expected to triple the access of safe drinking water supply for those domiciled in the region.

The project constructed within 18 months, was a collaboration of the National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) and the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF), for the provision of a sustainable supply of safe drinking water to tsunami affected families. The project would enhance the water supply from a current 2500 cubic metres per day to 9000 cubic metres.