Migrant workers' children to receive schols

Nadira Gunatilleke

Nearly 600 children of migrant workers from the Western Province will receive scholarships from President Mahinda Rajapaksa today. This is part of the government's scholarship programme implemented for migrant workers children according to a concept of the President, Foreign Employment and Welfare Minister Dilan Perera said.

Addressing a press briefing at Olympic House, Colombo 7 yesterday Minister Perera said that the programme was launched by President Rajapaksa in 1996 when he was Labour Minister. In 1996 the scholarships were awarded to 157 students belonging to migrant workers. Annually 1500 students receive this scholarship. In 2010 Rs.384,185,000 was given to 1,579 students as scholarships under this programme.

Minister Perera said that every child who gets through the year five scholarship examination will receive Rs.15,000 and students who pass GCE O/L and qualify for A/L will receive Rs.20,000. An undergraduate will receive Rs.30,000. All students belonging to migrant workers of Sri Lanka receive this scholarship. If one student gets all three scholarships he or she gets Rs.65,000.

The programme is to be extended to cover students who undergo vocational training in other institutions. Arrangements will be made soon to get discounts for the children of migrant professionals to study in private universities in Sri Lanka. This will retain a significant amount of foreign exchange in Sri Lanka, the Minister said.