India to set up skill development centre at Jaffna varsity

As part of its development partnership with Sri Lanka in the field of higher education, India today launched a SLR 300 million project to set up a skill development centre at a university in Tamil-dominated Jaffna.
The project in University of Jaffna's Faculty of Agriculture encompasses building construction as well as supply of equipment and furniture, in addition to training and curriculum development, the Indian High Commission said here today.
The objective of the project is to create infrastructure facilities in order to provide a conducive learning environment for students, increase student intake, and enhance knowledge and skills of both lecturers and students in the field of agricultural science.

Significantly, the campus is located at Kilinochchi, the former LTTE's administrative capital when they ran a parallel administration in the island.
Kilinochchi provided youth for the Tamil rebel movement who claimed discrimination due to lack of opportunities in education and employment.
Since Sri Lanka's war with the LTTE ended in 2009, the government of India has stepped up its development cooperation with its South Asian neighbour.
India has supported many infrastructure projects in the former conflict-torn regions including the railway link destroyed by the over three decades of war.