The Sri Lankan embassy here is keen on supporting an expansion project for the Stafford Sri Lankan School Doha (SSLSD), ambassador WM Karunadasa has said.

According to the ambassador, the initiative is part of ‘certain reforms’ and embassy-related activities that are in the pipeline.

‘The message I want to send is that the embassy is willing to expand the school premises to allay concerns from the Sri Lankan community following a media report that said there is a move to close down the school. There is not one iota of truth to this,’ Karunadasa told Gulf Times yesterday.

In December 2014, Karunadasa said the embassy signed a lease contract with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning for a 10,000sqm plot of land located in Al Thumama for Sri Lanka’s community school.

‘We have a large parcel of land that is waiting to be developed, and this school expansion project is a good opportunity to meet the needs of the Sri Lankan community in Qatar, particularly in the field of education,’ he said.

The ambassador said due to the lack of space at SSLSD, many parents took their children back to Sri Lanka ‘since they wanted to educate their children in a Sri Lankan cultural setting, along with other Sri Lankan students.’

Currently, SSLSD has limited admission and can only accommodate 775 students. Once completed, the school expansion project in Al Thumama will be able to take in more than 1,000 students, the ambassador said.

‘For this purpose, the embassy is intending to request the chairman of SSLSD to make certain reforms and adjustments in connection with the existing board of directors and in their strategies,’ Karunadasa said.