India opens 9th English training lab in Lanka

India has opened its 9th English language laboratory in Sri Lanka as part of its ongoing assistance programme which aims to enhance English language training in the country.
High Commissioner of India Y K Sinha inaugurated the English Language Laboratory in Kahawatta, in the south western region of Ratnapura.
The Language Laboratory in Ruwanpura National College of Education is one of the nine laboratories that India has set up in each of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka, the Indian High Commission said here.
Other laboratories are in Gampaha in Western Province, Kandy in Central Province, Bingiriya in North Western Province and Adalaichenai in Eastern Province, Matara in Southern Province, Badulla in Uva Province, Kopay in Northern Province and Polonnaruwa in North Central Province.

The project has been implemented as part of an Memorandum of Understanding signed between India and Sri Lanka in 2011 for setting up of a Three-Tier English Language Training System in Sri Lanka.
The total cost of the project is 84 million Sri Lankan Rupees, implemented under full grant assistance of India.
As part of the project, India has provided 31 computer units and other related equipment, software and latest teaching aids to each Centre, and has also trained five master trainers for each Centre.
The objective of the project is to help enhance English Language training infrastructure in Sri Lanka, impart training to English language teachers from schools, colleges and universities in Sri Lanka, upgrade their skills and raise the general level of proficiency in English, the Indian High Commission said in a statement.