NPC has undertaken a new project funded by Freedom House in partnership with four universities to set up certificate courses for local officials on pluralism and inclusive service delivery. The project, Sustaining Peace Through Pluralism and Inclusive Service Delivery, will enhance the capacity of government officials to deliver public services and to increase their participation in sustaining peace by providing a course under the guidance of the Universities of Ruhuna, Sabaragamuwa, Eastern and Jaffna.

Course content development has a structured process to identify the needs in the four districts in which the universities are located by consulting with officials from the District and Divisional Secretariats, Grama Niladhari officials and local government authorities. Faculty members of the four universities will develop a basic course module based on the needs of their specific areas that will be identified by following a process of consultation with the relevant stakeholders and focus group discussions. Then they will develop components that are uniform while also being specific for the different districts.

Twelve preliminary meetings were held with officials in Matara, Batticaloa, Jaffna and Ratnapura, who responded positively and said they appreciated getting practical knowledge to frontline public
officers. “We are living in a society with unresolved conflicts so we need officers who are similar to the counsellors,” said Jaffna District Secretary, Mr. K. Mahesan. The meetings discussed the challenges faced by government officers in providing non-discriminatory public services and the steps to be taken to overcome them.