Germany abets Sinhalicisation of education in occupied Tamil homeland

A'riviyal-nakar (Knowledge city) was a concept developed by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during the de-facto administration of the Tamil state in the suburb of Ki'linochchi. The University of Jaffna established the Faculty of Engineering in 2013 at A'riviyal-nakar, which is located 7km south of Ki'linochchi town. The ‘Sri Lanka’ German Training Institute (SLGTI) conceived during the regime of Rajapaksa in 2010 as a “vocational training project for the regions affected by the war,” started to function in 2014. Now, 80% of the students are Sinhala students. While all other technical institutions operating in the North use Tamil as the default language of learning and teaching, Tamil is not used as the language of education at the SLGTI, which is operating in “A'riviyal-nakar”. 

[Photo courtesy: SLGTI.com]

The staff and students speak in Sinhala. The overwhelming majority of the resident students are Sinhalese, both from the South and the Sinhala colonies of occupied North-East. 

The SLGTI provides National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) level training in mechanical technology, automotive & agricultural technology, electrical & electronic technology, construction technology, information & communications technology and food technology.

The institution claims that it is “promoting a demand-oriented, international education for technical professions in the private sector, SLGTI is supporting the reconciliation process in Sri Lanka.”

Commenting, a group of academics of the University of Jaffna told TamilNet that the training offered at the institution was of superior quality. But, the political, economical and cultural consequences are counter-productive seen in a Tamil perspective. 

The independent media and the civil society in Germany need to scrutiny and review the conduct of their state abetting the sophisticated protracted genocide, which is being waged by the occupying Sinhala state in the country of Eezham Tamils, the academics said. They didn't wish to be named fearing repercussions from the University Grant Commission of occupying Colombo. 

In the meantime, occupying Colombo has set up vocational training centres a few kilometres away from the SLTGI to provide training in subservient jobs such as sewing, cooking, bricklayer and mason work. Tamils are enrolled in large number at that centre. 

As reported earlier, the Federal Republic of Germany, which is the 4th largest economy in the world and the biggest economy within the European Union, has also been accelerating trade moves to create business opportunities for ‘Sri Lankan’ and German companies in recent times. 

The German ‘development’ also needs to be seen with Sinhalicisation of the campus of Jaffna University in Vavuniyaa and the recent violent attempts to erect prominent Theravada Buddhist shrines inside the campus premises in Ki'linochchi and Vavuniyaa.