Over 350 ex-LTTE child combatants to sit G.C.E A/L

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Over 350 ex-LTTE child combatants to sit G.C.E A/L
Commissioner General of Rehabilitation, Brigadier Sudantha Ranasinghe said that over 300 ex-LTTE child combatants would sit for the G.C.E Advanced Level (A/L) examination in coming August.
According to commissioner General they had to stop their education as LTTE had forcibly recruited them into its fighting units at the expense of their education and wellbeing.
"Out of the 594 students identified from the government-run rehabilitation centres, 378 students have been prepared for the forth coming G.C.E (A/L) exam and the rest of others will be released after rehabilitation" said Brig. Ranasinghe.
He further added that the military conducted a special school for those A/L students within the premises of Vavuniya Tamil Primary school, with the assistance of the Education Ministry. According to him they had supplied all their necessities such as books, stationery, food and lodging and they had only to study hard.
According to the sources, the identified 11,800 ex-LTTE cadres for rehabilitation from the IDP camps and 152 university students among them were sent to the Jaffna University. About 3,000 former LTTE cadres were released after successfully completion of rehabilitation programs and some of them were employed in the private sector.