An Act to Provide for the Use of the
Tamil Language and to Provide for Matters connected
therewith or incidental thereto
1. This Act may be cited as the Tamil Language (Special
Provisions) Act, No. 28 of 1958.
2. (1) A Tamil pupil in a Government school or an
Assisted school. shall be entitled to be instructed
through the medium of the Tamil language in accordance
with such regulations under the Education Ordinance
relating to the medium of instruction as are in force
or may hereafter be brought into force.
(2) When the Sinhala language is made a medium of
instruction in the University of Ceylon. the Tamil
language shall, in accordance with the provisions of
the Ceylon University Ordinance and of the Statutes,
Acts and regulations made there under, be made a medium
of instruction in such University for students who,
prior to their admission to such University, have been
educated through the medium of the Tamil language.
3 A person educated through the medium of the Tamil
language shall he entitled to be examined through such
medium at any examination for the admission of persons
to the Public Service, subject to the condition that he
shall, according as regulations made under this Act in
that, behalf may require,-
(a) have a sufficient knowledge of the official
language of Ceylon, or
(b) acquire such knowledge within a specified time
after admission to the Public Service:
Provided that, when the Government is satisfied that
there are sufficient facilities for the teaching of the
Sinhala language in schools in which the Tamil language
is a medium of instruction and that the annulment of
clause (b) of the preceding provisions of this section
will not cause undue hardship, provision may be made by
regulation made under this Act that such clause shall
cease to be in force.
4. Correspondence between persons, other than officials
in their official capacity, educated through the medium
of the Tamil language and any official in his official
capacity or between any local authority in the Northern
or Eastern Province and any official in his official
capacity may, as prescribed, be in the Tamil
language.
5. In the Northern and Eastern Provinces the Tamil
language may be used for prescribed administrative
purposes, in addition to the purposes for which that
language may be used in accordance with the other
provisions of this Act, without prejudice to the use of
the official language of Ceylon in respect of those
prescribed administrative purposes.
6. (1) The Minister may make regulations to give effect
to the principles and provisions of this Act.
(2)No regulation made under subsection (1) shall have
effect until it is approved by the Senate and the House
of Representatives and notification of such approval is
published in the Gazette
7. This Act shall have effect subject to such measures
as may have been or may be adopted under the proviso to
section 2 of the Official Language Act, No. 33 of 1956,
during the period ending on the thirty-first day of
December, 1960.
8.In this Act unless the context otherwise requires-
"Assisted school" and "Government school" shall have
the same meaning as in the Education Ordinance;
"local authority" means any Municipal Council, Urban
Council, Town Council or Village Council
"official " means the Governor-General, or any
Minister, Parliamentary Secretary or officer of the
Public Service and
"prescribed" means prescribed by regulation made under
this Act.
