Out of 300 ex-child soldiers, 210 pass A-Ls

Ishara MUDUGAMUWA

Three hundred former child soldiers sat the Advanced Level Examination last year and 210 passed the exam, Rehabilitation Ministry Secretary A Dissanayake said.

"About 140 students among them, got the opportunity to enter a university including two to the medical faculty and three for engineering," Dissanayake said.

He also said all former LTTE combatants undergoing rehabilitation will be released by the end of this year.

"Of the 12,296 former LTTE soldiers, about 9,350 have been re- integrated into society and the rest will be released before the end of this year," he said.

"Before these former Tiger cadres were rehabilitated, they were separated into six groups under A, B, C, D, E and F. Those selected to A, B and C are senior LTTE activists while those in C,D and E categories were recruited to the movement by force or joined the LTTE as means of employment," the Secretary added. He also said that priority was given to former child soldiers when they were released.

"Later, women, disabled persons, fathers with four children, three children and so on were released. Most children who were released resumed schooling," he said.

The Rehabilitation Ministry provide loan facilities for those released to engage in self-employment. Vocational training and language training such as information technology, English, post harvest technology, cookery, beauty culture, masonry etc. were provided to about 10,114 people when they were at the rehabilitation centres, the Secretary said.

According to ministry statistics Rs 728,195,206 was spent to provide rations during rehabilitation by the end of May, 2011.