The scholarship holders were selected to represent all provinces. They will participate in a specially designed three month training course at the English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU) in Hyderabad.

During the two and a half years of the Presidential Initiative on English as a Life Skill, EFLU has trained 80 English Languages Master Trainers from the Ministry of Education on scholarships awarded by the Indian Government. These Master Trainers have now train all 23,000 English teachers in the country to teach ‘Spoken English’ to students.

Within the scope of the MoU India will assist Sri Lanka to equip the nine Centres of English Language Training which the Ministry of Education currently establishing in the nine provinces, and also India will assist to establish 9 English languages libries in the nine Provincial Centres of English Language Training which are now being established.

In his remarks after the signing ceremony, Bandula Gunawardana, Minister of Education stated that “As a result of the new approach to English, large numbers of children in our rural schools have now begun to speak English with confidence, without being frightened of the language as they were in the past.”

India and Sri Lanka share almost identical attitudes and policies in relation to Language. Both our countries are proud and protective of our own languages. Sri Lanka, for instance, is home to the two languages with the oldest literary traditions in South Asia- Tamil and Sinhala, the Minister added.

“The main purpose of signing this agreement is to further develop mutual cooperation between two countries and to share knowledge,” said High Commissioner of India Ashok K. Kantha addressing the gathering.

“If we encourage our children to speak English fearlessly it becomes tool of empowerment,” he further said.

High Commissioner of India Ashok K. Kantha signed the agreement on behalf of Government of India while Bandula Gunawardana, Minister of Education signed the agreement on behalf of Government of Sri Lanka.