Sri Lanka is recovering from a 30-year long Civil war. The region most affected comprises the North Eastern districts, which once encompassed the Western District of Batticaloa. Under the rule of the LTTE, these schools saw paltry development. Therefore, facilities were basic and there were insufficient resources. The Government of Sri Lanka reformed its education system one year back to align it with its economic goals. ....facilities were basic and there were insufficient resources.... However, the new system works best in schools which have adequate resources. Village schools on the other hand, are left out due to a massive shortage of teachers specialised in English and other subjects. English is usually taught in a manner focused on attaining good examination results. Therefore, there are very few opportunities for students to grasp conversational English. "Maalu Maalu Lanka" hopes to equip these students with the confidence and ability to carry out simple conversations in English. Furthermore, it aims to complement their academic knowledge by imparting online research and IT skills. Besides an English and IT course, it aims to upgrade the libraries of two schools. The project also serves to provide an exciting platform for cultural exchange between university students from Singapore and students from Batticaloa in their final and penultimate years in High School.
Our Objectives
We aim to build confidence in the students by conducting exercises in speech and expression. While focusing on grammar, sentence structure and other technical aspects of the language is indispensable, we endeavour to provide opportunities for students to overcome their fear of speaking the language. Dramatisations, educational games, sharing of experiences with non-Tamil speakers and other activities of this nature play an integral role in breaking barriers and engaging the students.
Batticaloa is a fairly agrarian region, with numerous villages that are typically rural. Yet, the global reach of IT has not spared these villages. Many of the students who graduate from the village schools would like to take up courses in IT to prepare themselves to work in the towns. We aspire to work closely with the students to equip them with basic IT skills so as to better prepare them for what lies ahead after they leave school.
Inculcating the habit of reading is a challenge because of a shortage of useful resources in the school libraries in this area. By collecting donated books (basic English and advanced Tamil books) and donating them to the school libraries and by rearranging the libraries and adding shelves, we hope to provide students with a greater incentive to read and more reading options to choose from.
