The Hon. Aravinda Senarath - Deputy Minister of Land and Irrigation
The Deputy Minister, responding on behalf of the Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation Minister, provided details on the Irrigation Training Institute in Galgamuwa, established on 1 January 1959 on a 16-acre site with 36 buildings and 31 current staff. He stated that the institute trains technical and other irrigation staff, conducts induction and in-service courses, Efficiency Bar Examinations, water management and field training, and survey camps, with 1,260 trainees having completed the Engineering Assistant Diploma since the first 35-student intake in 1959. He noted that the most recent diploma intake was in 2014 and that training functions are also linked to the Kotmale International Irrigation and Water Management Training Institute.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation, I provide the following regarding the Irrigation Training Institute, Galgamuwa.
¶ 02 (a) (i) 01 January 1959.
¶ 03 (ii) Objectives: - Train second-tier technical staff (then Technical Assistants; now Engineering Assistants) proficient in engineering and irrigation technology for the Department of Irrigation. - Conduct induction and short in-service training courses to meet training and service needs of various departmental service categories. - Conduct Efficiency Bar Examinations stipulated in service schemes and recruitment procedures for relevant departmental cadres.
¶ 04 (iii) 16 acres.
¶ 05 (iv) 36 buildings.
¶ 06 (v) 31 staff members. (Clerical/administrative and support cadres together number 31 currently in maintenance/operations; total staff complement recorded as 31 at present.)
¶ 07 (b) (i) Courses: - Diploma in Irrigation Engineering (3 years). - Induction trainings for officers in various departmental service categories (engineers, engineering assistants, technical supporting officers, other technical and non-technical cadres). - Efficiency Bar Examinations. - Professional training towards chartered engineer qualifications. - Residential and short-term training programmes as per periodically identified needs. - Water management training for irrigation engineers and technical staff. - Residential and field training for farmer representatives. - Training for managers of irrigation enterprises. - Survey camps for engineering undergraduates of state/semistate/private universities.
¶ 08 (ii) 1959 (for the Engineering Assistant Diploma intake).
¶ 09 (iii) 35 (first cohort).
¶ 10 (iv) 1,260 have successfully completed to date.
¶ 11 (v) 2014 (most recent student intake to the diploma courses).
¶ 12 (vi) Yes.
¶ 13 (vii) Kotmale International Irrigation and Water Management Training Institute.
¶ 14 (c) Not applicable.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Tuesday, 19 May 2026 ·No. 23608 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Aravinda Senarath - Deputy Minister of Land and Irrigation. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 19 May 2026. No. 23608. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/29176