• Only 3 vehicles in WP to transport children, other Provinces have no separate vehicles; Transport Min. seeks written complaint 

Prisons are facing a lack of separate transport facilities to transport children in prisons to schools, in turn leading to them being transported using prison buses meant for prisoners.

“We only have three buses in the Western Province (WP) to transport these children to schools,” Prison Media Spokesperson and Prisons Department Commissioner, Gamini Dissanayake told The Daily Morning. “The other Provinces don’t have any buses so as a temporary measure; we use the buses that we use to transport prisoners to transport children to medical checkups and schools.”

Dissanayake confirmed that there are 41 children whose mothers are imprisoned and are below the age of five (18 males and 23 females) as well as 70 youth offenders at present.

The Committee for Protecting the Rights of Prisoners noted that the use of the prison vehicles, which have features such as windows with grills and which are identifiable as prison buses, causes psychological harm to the child.

When contacted by The Daily Morning, the Ministry of Transport Secretary, K.D.S. Ruwanchandra requested a complaint of the lack of transport in writing.

Children under the age of five can stay with their mothers in prison; however, those who are considered young offenders are held in the Wataraka School where they can undergo training as well as complete their secondary education. However, a report by the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) states that young offenders are subjected to violence as a means of discipline. Meanwhile, the HRCSL also states that children under five lack access to nutritious food, medical checkups, books and toys.