Students must contribute to social development – Douglas

Students following higher education while paying attention to their studies must also contribute towards social development, Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development Minister Douglas Devananda said.

Minister Devananda participating as the Chief Guest at a ceremony at Weerasingam Hall, Jaffna to mark the awarding of Presidential Scholarships to students, said the President was taking a concerted effort to develop the education of the country by investing heavily and awarding scholarships to needy students.

Northern Provincial Governor Major General G.A. Chandrasiri was also engaged in the same exercise to uplift education in the North from Provincial Council funds, Devananda said.

He advised students to utilise funds granted to them wisely and constructively to achieve their academic objectives.

The minister said the President’s wish was for the country to excel in the education sphere and make it the Wonder of Asia.

The Mahindodaya fully fledged 1,000 school programme which has been launched and the 5,000 similar school programmes to be implemented later has been envisaged to realise this objective, Devananda said.

Northern Provincial Education Ministry Secretary S. Sathyaseelan said under the instructions of Major General Chandrasiri, all vacancies for teaching English, Mathematics, Science and Information Technology had been filled.