As part of the multi-sectoral Indian grant assistance of INR 750 million, commemorating 200 years since the arrival of the Indian-origin Tamil community in Sri Lanka, announced during the visit of His Excellency the President of Sri Lanka to India in July 2023, a teacher training program in STEM subjects—including Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, English, and Biology—is currently being conducted in Sri Lanka.
The program was officially launched at a ceremony on August 5, 2024, at the Prime Minister’s Office, Temple Trees, Colombo. The event was attended by Deputy High Commissioner of India Dr. Satyanjal Pandey, senior officials from the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Water Supply and Estate Infrastructure Development, and the National Institute of Education, as well as teacher-trainers from India and over 1,000 teachers from various schools in Sri Lanka’s plantation regions.
As part of the teacher-training program, 19 Indian teachers specializing in STEM subjects arrived in Sri Lanka on July 21, 2024. They participated in orientation sessions organized by the Ministry of Water Supply and Estate Infrastructure Development and the Ministry of Education of Sri Lanka. Their activities included in-depth meetings with senior officials from both ministries, field visits to six schools in the plantation areas of the Central and Western provinces, and a structured orientation program arranged by the National Institute of Education.
The opening session of the orientation program on July 29 was addressed by the Hon. Minister of State for Education of Sri Lanka, Mr. A. Aravindh Kumar, along with senior officials from the Ministry of Water Supply and Estate Infrastructure Development, the Ministry of Education, and the High Commission of India in Colombo. The orientation focused on reviewing the syllabi, gaining a thorough understanding of specific HR and infrastructure needs, clarifying program expectations, and learning about the Sri Lankan educational system, pedagogy, and teaching techniques. It also involved identifying differences between the Sri Lankan and Indian curricula and developing short-term and long-term strategies to ensure the program's success and sustained benefits.
The teachers are now set to be deployed to schools in the plantation regions to begin the 10-week teacher-training program. A detailed mapping exercise has been conducted to ensure the optimal use of the Indian trainers based on the specific needs of schools in these areas. Consequently, the teachers will conduct in-person training sessions at nearly 40 centers across the Central, Uva, and Sabaragamuwa provinces, with some centers in the Western, Southern, and North Western provinces participating virtually. By the program's successful conclusion, hundreds of teachers from schools in the plantation areas are expected to benefit from this initiative.
The training program is a valuable addition to India's extensive list of people-centric development partnership initiatives in Sri Lanka. These initiatives are tailored to the needs of the Sri Lankan people and align with the priorities of the Sri Lankan Government across various sectors, including education, housing, health, agriculture, livelihood support, renewable energy, ports, and railways, among others.
