CTTU holds Annual Convention

[TamilNet, Friday, 30 March 2001, 02:44 GMT]
"There is no normalcy in the north and east. Hundred and thirteen schools have been closed down here as a consequence. There are army in camps schools in the north and east. More than hundred schools have to function in temporary sheds. Nevertheless, Tamil teachers are doing their duty with dedication amidst these adverse conditions.

It is with great devotion that they are providing the wealth of knowledge to the children of the people in the north and east who have lost their homes and their kith and kin. There are over twenty thousand Tamil teachers in Sri Lanka", said the Director for Education of the Northeastern provincial council, Mr. E.Sivananthan, addressing the annual convention of the Ceylon Teachers' Union Friday in Trincomalee.

The convention commenced in the auditorium of the St. Mary's Convent following two minutes of silence observed for the teachers, principals and students who were lost their lives due to the conflict.

A long procession of more than thousand two hundred Tamil teachers started from the Hindu College around 9.30 a.m. Friday morning and went along the Trincomalee Dock Yard Road to the St.Mary's Convent, the venue of the convention.

Mr. Dietmar Kneitschel, the resident representative of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung foundation in Colombo and Mr.S.Amirthalingam, Secretary to the North-eastern Provincial Ministry of Rehabilitation, Reconstruction, Social Services and Women's Affairs, were the chief guests at opening secessions of the CTTU convention.

The Executive Committee of the union met in the evening. The general body of the CTTU will ratify the resolutions proposed by the executive committee Saturday.



(Please click on the image for larger photo) A Tamil girl's school band in the CTTU procession. The banner of the convention at the head of the procession. A Tamil boy's school band in the procession. A section of the CTTU procession along the Dock Yard Road going towards the venue of the union's annual convention