Rs. 1 bn for developing Jaffna, Eastern universities
May 4, 2012, 10:18 pm, The Island
 

by Franklin R. Satyapalan
 
     The government has set 
aside funds for the development of the  Jaffna and Eastern universities.
 The construction of the Agriculture and  Engineering faculties on a 
500-acre block of land at Arivu Nagar (City of  Knowledge) in 
Kilinochchi, with a Rs. 500 mn grant from the Indian government  and a 
Rs. 500 million allocations from the Sri Lankan government would 
commence  shortly, Secretary to the Ministry of Higher Education Dr. 
Sunil Jayantha  Navaratne said.
 
  He said the Minister of 
Higher Education S. B. Dissanayake  accompanied by Indian High 
Commissioner in Sri Lanka Ashok K. Kanth would visit  the site in 
Kilinochchi on Monday, May 07 and meet the Vice Chancellor (VC) of  the 
Jaffna University Prof. Vasanthi Arasaratnam and Government Agent of  
Kilinochchi Mrs Rupawathi Ketheeswaran in taking forward the project.
 
 He
 said that President Mahinda Rajapaksa had advised the  Minister 
Dissanayake not to delay the project as the area had been deprived of  
development over the past three decades due to the war.
 
 He said the Government would allocate supplementary funding for  the project in the 2013 Budget.
 
 The
 Vice Chancellor of the Eastern University Prof. K.  Kobindarajah said 
that he was looking forward to the proposed development as  peace among 
the communities could be achieved through the field of education.