• Students/parents/teachers bemoan plight of not being issued season tickets for school holidays 
• Lament inability to use them for tuition/extracurricular-related travel during weekends/holidays 

In the midst of serious financial hardships that people are going through, many incidents have been reported in recent times which reflect that the rulers still do not care about the people and instead work for their own comfort. One of the closest examples of this is a group of parliamentarians representing the ruling party – including former President, Prime Minister, and current Government MP Mahinda Rajapaksa – reportedly having had a lavish party in the middle of the sea using two vessels belonging to the Sri Lanka Ports Authority.

While politicians, most of whom led the country to an economic crisis, and should work hard to find solutions for the same, are having parties at the cost of the people, how ridiculous is it to limit transport facilities provided at concessional rates for schoolchildren through the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB), saying that it is to strengthen the economy. The non-issuance of monthly season tickets given to schoolchildren during the school holidays and restrictions imposed so that those thus issued cannot be used on Saturdays and Sundays (during the weekend) have been heavily discussed in the last few days.

On several occasions in the past few years, particularly from 2021 to 2023, fees charged by transport services have doubled and tripled with fuel prices rising at huge rates. It had an unbearable effect on all groups such as the school student, the patient going to the hospital, and the public or private sector worker going to their workplace. No matter how much the cost of living has gone up by, all others – except for a few categories of public servants – are still getting the same salary as they did a few years ago, but have had to bear the rapidly increased and increasing expenses of all forms.

The monthly season ticket issued by the SLTB at a concessional rate is a great relief for schoolchildren and those who travel to work on a daily basis. Even schoolchildren who did not obtain season tickets earlier have now resorted to applying for them. The rapid increase in the price of school supplies like stationery, bags, and shoes has made it extremely difficult for parents to raise money for their children’s education after meeting their household needs. Therefore, the season tickets for their children also brought great comfort to the parents.

The burden of restrictions

Restrictions that have been imposed by the Government on monthly season tickets issued for schoolchildren, aimed at what the Government said was proper financial management, have led to much talk in the past few days. The depots belonging to the SLTB had received orders not to issue them for schoolchildren for the months when schools are not held. This move was heavily criticised by many parties including political parties representing the Parliamentary Opposition. The depots had also worked to not allow students to use the monthly season tickets on Saturdays, Sundays, and on Poya days.

Sandun Nimesh, a General Certificate of Education Advanced Level (GCE A/L) student residing in the Warakapola area who gets monthly season tickets to go to the school which is nearly 50 kilometres away from his home, speaking to The Daily Morning, said that they use the season ticket to go to school during school days as well as to go to tuition classes during holidays. 

“We need to attend classes and school sports activities during school holidays. Earlier, we used the season ticket for that too, but the Warakapola Depot refused to issue season tickets for this month (January). I study in a school in Colombo. So I attend tuition classes in Colombo. These days, I have to spend a lot of money to travel from Warakapola to Colombo two or three days a week. It is difficult for my parents to find that money these days,” he shared.

Nimesh also said that some bus conductors do not allow them to use the season tickets on Saturdays and Sundays even when they are issued. He claimed that doing so is a great injustice to schoolchildren as tuition classes and other school extracurricular activities are usually held on weekends.

Miscommunicated decisions

Speaking to the media on the matter, Minister of Transport and Highways Dr. Bandula Gunawardana said that the relevant officials may be in trouble if they issue season tickets to schoolchildren for holiday months. 

“The people including parents and children may not know that the Government has to bear a massive expenditure on monthly season tickets. We issue season tickets to about 450,000 to 500,000 students who are studying at schools, technical colleges, and universities. I have asked for Rs. 20 billion from the general Treasury to issue season tickets. It is the same amount that we will have to spend if we renovate 1,500 kilometres of roads in the country. 

“The Auditor General (AG) is auditing these matters, and if the season tickets are issued when schools are closed, our officials will be found guilty. We have issued them for students who are sitting for the GCE Advanced Level Examination and studying at technical colleges and universities. GCE Ordinary Level (O/L) students can also obtain them with a recommendation from the school principals."

Although the subject Minister said that students belonging to some selected categories have the ability to get season tickets during school holidays, the SLTB depots are apparently unaware of the matter. When several depots in different parts of the country such as Polonnaruwa, Anuradhapura, and Kegalle were contacted by The Daily Morning, the relevant officials did not mention any such fact, and instead said that season tickets for schoolchildren would not be issued for this month (January). When queried about not allowing students to use season tickets on Saturdays and Sundays, they said that it was a decision taken as per relevant higher orders.

Govt. responsibility

Speaking to The Daily Morning, a teacher of a leading school in Kandy said that more than 70% of students in many classes use monthly season tickets. 

“We spend more than six hours a day with children. Sometimes, their parents don’t even spend that much time with them. So we know the difficulties that children come to school with. I work in a leading school in Kandy. It is the students from far flung areas who excel in examinations like the Grade Five Scholarship and the O/L who attend these leading schools. Some of them get accommodation near Kandy City, but many of them come to school daily from their homes for various reasons. 

“If they come by regular bus, they have to spend a lot of money. However, the season ticket costs them less than half the normal cost,” she said, and noted that even though the Government has imposed restrictions on season tickets citing school holidays, in the current scenario, almost every student attends tuition classes, so they have to come to the city on weekends as well.

It is no secret that governments spend billions of money annually on various projects that do not bring any benefit to the country or the people. In addition, there is hardly anyone who does not know that various parties are committing financial frauds and various other irregularities in the implementation of large-scale projects. 

In such a situation, it is the foremost responsibility of any government to provide the necessary facilities for equipping the children with education, which is one of the most important investments that can be made as a country. When the people are grappling with a serious economic crisis, it should be the responsibility of the Government to provide relief whenever possible to the people who are struggling to meet their daily needs.

Chathurika Dilrukshi, a mother who sends her two children to a school in Maharagama from a faraway area in Godagama, Homagama, mentioned that her two children have to spend Rs. 680 a day to travel from her home to Godagama and then to Maharagama and vice versa. 

“If we pay normal charges for the bus and send our children to school, we have to spend nearly Rs. 20,000 per month for their travel costs alone, but our family’s monthly income is only about Rs. 50,000. Therefore, getting the monthly season ticket has been a great relief. It was not issued for this month as it is the holiday season, but both my children attend tuition classes and engage in sports activities. 

“We had to spend more than Rs. 30,000 to purchase their stationery and other school items for the new school term which will begin in February. When we have spent that much during the month of December (2023), it is hard to afford transport-related expenses,” she said.

Anyone would agree that overcoming the prevailing economic crisis is essential and that the dream of building a prosperous country can only be realised by doing so. However, in strengthening the economy, it is essential to implement programmes that are sensitive to the people. People are going through a very difficult time with continuous hikes in electricity and water tariffs, commodity and drug price-related hikes, and cuts in long-standing subsidies. Therefore, it is high time for rulers to realise that no prosperity can be achieved by sacrificing children’s education, and that economic stability achieved in such a way would not last for so long.