Palaly Teachers' College's 54.5 acres still in army hands, MP urges immediate release

The 54.5 acres of land belonging to Palaly Teachers' Training College in Jaffna are still in the hands of the military, and the fact that the education sector remains under military control shows how far the country's education system has declined, Jaffna district MP Sivagnanam Sridharan said.

He urged the government to immediately release the college's land and take steps to turn it into a faculty of education of the University of Jaffna.

He made the remarks while speaking in Parliament on Thursday (06.11.2026) during the debate on the private member's motion to convert colleges of education into university faculties.

When the Kotagala and Sri Pada colleges of education in the hill country are converted into faculties linked to universities for the more than 900,000 Tamils living there, it will help fulfil the educational and basic needs of students in the region, he said.

Similarly, the University of Jaffna's education department should be upgraded into a full faculty of education. Only then can the management training needs of principals, educationists and teachers in the administrative sector develop, he pointed out.

According to official information from the Valikamam North divisional secretariat, the historic Palaly Teachers' Training College's 54.5-acre site remains in military hands.

If the education sector is being kept under the control of the military establishment, that itself is proof of how paralysed this country's education has become, he said, adding that it is unacceptable that the college, which produced hundreds of fine teachers, is still being used as military camps.

"This government, which came to power promising to release the lands of the northern people and improve their livelihoods, must immediately release the Palaly Teachers' Training College land and act swiftly to make it a leading faculty of the University of Jaffna," he appealed.