Visually impaired Pasindu scores 162 marks at Grade 5 scholarship exam
Education Minister Bandula Gunawardana gifted a green board and a piano to Senkadagala Special School, to felicitate Pasindu Hirantha Wijerathne who scored 162 marks at the Grade 5 scholarship exam.
Of the 11 students who sat for the Grade 5 scholarship exam from the school 10 students were hearing impaired while the other was Pasindu who is visually impaired.
Senkadagala Special School facilitates visually and hearing impaired students, and is administered by a Control Board.
The principal of the school is Mrs Kumuduni Aberuwan, whilst Mrs Nilmini Dharmarathne was Pasindu’s class teacher.
This occasion marks the second ceremony chaired by Minister Gunawardana to commend Pasindu. beneficiaries by the ministry, in order to strengthen their economy while providing food for the needy.
Parents and students are benefited by this programme, and the Education Times learns that a number of students attend school as a result of this.
“It is indeed a worthy project, but the way they do it is the problem,” says Ceylon Teachers Union General Secretary Joseph Stalin.
Mr Stalin said that the programme has been stopped in several schools around the country, because the money allocated is not properly distributed.
“The Samurdhi beneficiaries who prepare food cannot do it anymore, because they are not paid in time. Most of them take loans to buy the raw materials, and when the money doesn’t reach them on time, they find it difficult to continue,” he said.
According to Mr. Stalin, as a result of the delay in payments, the beneficiaries are forced to cut down on the meal. “When they have to provide an egg for each child, the beneficiaries cut an egg into about eight, before packeting the meal. What is the meaning of the programme then? The children don’t get the required nutrition through these meals,” he said.
Mr Stalin further added that the ‘free meals to students’ became ineffective from the middle of last month. exhibition of its kind in Sri Lanka offering unmatched value both to exhibitors and visitors alike.”
“We will offer ‘an onsite complete walk through’ to Sri Lankan youth who will be the ultimate beneficiaries,” Mr Abeysinghe emphasised.
EDEX Expo 2014 is endorsed by the Presidential Secretariat, Ministries of Higher Education, Education, Youth Affairs & Skills Development, Environment & Renewable Energy, Labour & Labour Relations and Productivity Promotion, while Strategic Partners such as Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC), Information & Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA), Sri Lanka Association of Software & Services Companies (SLASSCOM) and the Employers’ Federation of Ceylon (EFC), signify its relevance to many industry chambers and employers. EDEX Job Fair is further assisted by the Institute of Personnel Managers, Sri Lanka (IPM-SL) and Sri Lanka Career Guidance Counsellors Association.
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