The Army kicks off work Re-Opening work of Government Tamil School begins

Stage is set for re-opening of the Eluththumaduval north Government Tamil Mixed School at least by early 2005 with the strong support the school authorities received from troops deployed in the Jaffna peninsula.

Initial survey to commence the conduct of the school was begun as early as March this year after Brigadier V. R Silva, General Officer Commanding (GOC) 55 Division on the instructions of the Northern Commander for Jaffna Major General S. D Tennekoon sat for a meeting with members of the tutorial staff, parents, villagers and a section of students for a pow-wow to explore possibilities of making the project a reality.

Everybody shared the common concerns, and as a result, work got underway to inspect the site and clear it of any eventual landmines or explosives. The foundation stone for renovations and repairs to the dilapidated school was finally laid on 24 September 2004 rekindling the hopes of everybody for a speedy re-opening.

Early this week, an inspection tour to evaluate and expedite the progress of the ongoing work was made by the GOC in the company of UNHCR representative and the Coordinating Officer for Jaffna who were instrumental to support this project since its inception.

School authorities were upbeat to see that their project comes to a completion as scheduled enabling them to re-open the school in early January for studies.