Public servants including policemen should have an in depth knowledge of the Sinhala and Tamil languages, National Institute of Business Management (NIBM) Chairman Professor Lakshman Jayathilake said.

Testifying before the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission yesterday at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute, he was of the view that IT based translation is eminently feasible and this system is commonly used in European countries. "We can down-load at no cost programs that translate a text typed-in one language to another with a simple command. Prof Jayathilake opined that this system can be used for translating Tamil and Sinhala vice-versa.

He said that the necessary ground work is in progress for developing of this system by which Sinhalese language can be translated into Tamil and vice versa. "The software should now be developed as a matter of high national priority. The two languages are very similar in so that it would be simpler to develop the necessary algorithms as compared to that for English-German translation," he added.

Professor Jayathilake said that language departments and IT should be brought together and given the mandate to engage in the necessary R and D work as a matter of high national priority.

"They should be engaged in concerted actions that cut across university and departmental boundaries so that convenient, comprehensive and user friendly translations systems are developed as components of their normal duties," he added.

The NIBM Chairman stressed that the University Grants Commission should be mandated to establish, with the cooperation of ICTA staff development performance evaluation and promotion schemes based on their direct contributions to the creation and implementation of these systems and their ongoing refinement, capacity enhancement and improvement.

Professor Jayathilake opined that equity in education is a basic need that can be ensured by supplying qualified teachers in keeping with national norms and of materials and equipment to support the teaching-learning in conformity with curriculum standards that are essential.