India aids Sri Lanka in printing textbooks for school

Colombo: Sri Lanka will receive financing aid from India to manufacture textbooks for schoolchildren in 2023 as it struggles with the ongoing economic crisis brought on by surging prices and a dollar shortage.

Susil Premejanatha, the minister of education, stated that preparations have been made to import raw materials, such as the paper and ink needed for textbook production, under an Indian credit line.

The textbook must be printed by January in order to be ready for the 2023 school year, which will begin in March of that year.

Education was one of the main sufferers of the current economic crisis the nation has been going through, lacking the funds to purchase printing supplies.

In March last year, the island nation cancelled examinations for millions of students with no papers to print exam papers.

Providing free education, Sri Lanka provides textbooks and school uniforms for students and around $44 million is estimated for the printing of books for the year 2023.

While the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreed to provide $2.9 billion over four years with conditions to help salvage the country from its economic crisis, India, as a single country has provided the biggest financial support so far extending $4 billion for the year 2022 alone.

With inputs from IANS