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Half of Sri Lanka’s children need urgent humanitarian assistance: Rohini Wijeratne Kavirathna

19 Jun 2022

  • School education must continue despite any hardships
  • Transport solution needed to ensure continued education
  • A hungry child will not absorb any learning
  • At least provide meals from pre-schools up to Grade 5
  • 56,000 Lankan children suffering from severe acute malnutrition
  • Provide mental health services and psychosocial support to children
  • Education reforms essential; subjects must be reduced
By Marianne David Sri Lanka’s students have been facing challenge upon challenge since early 2020, starting with repeated Covid-related lockdowns, during which school education more or less fell apart. Hot on the heels of the Covid recovery came the economic crisis, resulting in ongoing food and fuel shortages, once again hampering children’s education. Beset as they are on all fronts, with learning continually disrupted, many children are being left behind – failed by the State and the system. Despite the difficulties the country is undergoing, it is imperative to continue school education, asserted Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Rohini Wijeratne Kavirathna, in an interview with The Sunday Morning. “If we do not do so, the future is finished. Children’s education has to be continued, no matter what hardships may arise,” she added, calling on the Government to provide a solution to ensure that children and teachers are able to travel to school. It’s not just transport problems that are preventing children from attending school – the drop in school attendance is also due to a lack of availability of food. As Kavirathna noted, when prices go up, the only way in which poor people can cut down expenses is by sacrificing meals. Even as children go hungry and miss out on learning, Parliament is yet to come up with solutions: “They keep talking about the problems that the country is facing, but they are not talking about solutions. The need of the hour is for Parliament to become a place where solutions are presented and discussed,” Kavirathna said, pointing out that there was no point in trying to teach a hungry child. “Even Lord Buddha has said to first feed the person who is hungry before preaching to them. The Education Minister and Government must do something about this situation as a matter of urgency,” the SJB MP added. Following are excerpts of the interview: The Education Minister announced last week that the number of school holidays would be limited to enable covering of the syllabus. However, children are facing hardships in terms of travel – they are unable to get to school amid rising costs and lack of fuel – and they are further suffering without sufficient food. How can these issues be addressed? There are two sides to this problem. On the one hand, we have to somehow, in whatever manner, continue school education for these students, because if we do not do so, the future is finished. Children’s education has to be continued in whatever form and in whatever way, no matter what hardships may arise. But, on the other hand, there are many problems in ensuring the provision of education.  One is the transport problem. We know that no matter how much preaching is done about the best school being the closest school, children do not go to the closest school. If they were doing so, about 75% of the problems relating to continuing education can be solved immediately. If at all, it is only the teachers who will have to travel to the schools from further away. However, only a very few students go to the village schools closest to them; they are often the students who are unable to get into a more popular school. Due to this situation, students are facing a serious problem when it comes to transportation. Secondly, Sri Lanka is in such a dire economic situation at present that I do not believe that children are eating three meals a day these days. In this backdrop, there is a problem in ensuring a continued education for children. The Government has to provide a solution to ensure that children and teachers are able to travel to school. Without doing so, it is impossible to continue providing education. One in every two children in Sri Lanka is in need of humanitarian assistance. On 10 June, UNICEF appealed for $ 25 million to meet the urgent needs of 1.7 million children affected by the economic crisis in Sri Lanka. This brings the extent of the crisis into stark focus. Around 56,000 Sri Lankan children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition.  Along with ensuring education and providing nutrition, in order to prevent mental stress, it is equally important to provide mental health services and psychosocial support to children. If this does not happen, in the next 10 years society will further disintegrate. Children have been dropping out of school and there has been a marked decrease in attendance due to the lack of food. Children are often ashamed to turn up with a meal that showcases their poverty. How can this be urgently resolved, especially given the lack of funds? This is a huge problem. People’s incomes have not increased, so when sacrifices need to be made, it is always done in relation to meals. The plate of rice shows the impact. Already many mothers are suffering from malnutrition and this is increasing. People in villages are not able to assist village schools in the long term as they are also struggling.  The Education Ministry has halted the school meals programme in some places and the ‘Poshana Malla’ nutritious pack for pregnant mothers has also been stopped. At the very least, it would be good if the Government can provide meals for children from pre-schools up to Grade 5. If this is not done, school attendance will drop further. Do you see any real will in the Government to solve the problems that students are facing? There is a lot of talk about it, but what action is being taken? In Parliament they keep talking about the problems that the country is facing, but they are not talking about solutions. People know the problems that they have; the politicians don’t need to keep listing them; people don’t need to listen to politicians talking about the same thing in Parliament. The need of the hour is for Parliament to become a place where solutions are presented and discussed. Essential services must be ensured and fuel must be provided for public transport. The Government must come up with a solution. If a child goes to school hungry, that child will not be able to learn. I am appealing to the Minister to provide one meal to schoolchildren – some meal in some way. I don’t believe the Government will be able to carry out any big programme given the economic conditions, but in some small way, these children need to be given a meal.  Last week we saw people giving dansal in many places. I am not saying it should not be done, but the many dansal being held showed that there are people who are in a position to engage in such acts of generosity despite these economic conditions. It was not only the hungry who ate at these dansal; those who can afford to eat still went to dansal for enjoyment.  Maybe people who wish to give such alms could do so by providing meals for students? Such a programme could perhaps be coordinated via the Pradeshiya Sabhas. I am not condemning the giving of alms; I am only highlighting a need of the hour and pointing out something that people who are able to provide such assistance can do.  There is no point in trying to teach a little child who is hungry; that child will not absorb any of the learning. Even Lord Buddha has said to first feed the person who is hungry before preaching to them. The Education Minister and Government must do something about this situation as a matter of urgency. Free uniforms, textbooks, and a midday meal are three major incentives that draw children from underprivileged homes to school. All these are seemingly in jeopardy today. How do you view this and how will it impact education? I raised questions about the matter of textbooks and was informed that the Government had provided the necessary textbooks. We discussed the matter of food earlier.  As for uniforms, during the Yahapalana Government, a coupon was provided instead of uniform material, which was good. Not all students are in need of the material and some do not use it, but it is given to all so that some children are not singled out and made to feel ashamed.  In certain schools, the principals have instructed students to come to school in coloured clothes if need be; some parents and students who spoke to me also confirmed this. However, the reality is that this could lead to more problems, especially in the case of older students. If other unnecessary projects – such as those related to highways – are halted and steps are taken by the Government to provide children with uniform materials, it would be very good. If power cuts and fuel shortages worsen, what is the contingency plan for education? Does Sri Lanka have an education emergency preparedness plan? You will have to ask the Education Minister this. I have been speaking about this matter for quite a while, especially given the situation that arose during the Covid-related lockdowns.  When it comes to distance/online learning, a majority of children were left behind. Given the experience during the Covid lockdowns, if that knowledge had been used to prepare a programme, we would not be in this situation today. However, I don’t believe that such an emergency programme is in place.  If children are entirely unable to attend school – and I fervently hope it does not come to this – we must have a programme in place to ensure distance/online learning.  It is pathetic that massive amounts are provided for roads and highways while so little is spent on education, especially given the ongoing crisis. Right now health and education should be the top priorities, instead of prioritising unnecessary spending. How can the State reach students who are left behind due to the digital divide? I think at present the best option is to instruct children to attend the school that is closest to them, the schools that can be reached on foot. This is a temporary solution and cannot be done everywhere. As for online learning, take Wilgamuwa, for instance – it is an impoverished place, there are no teachers close by, and it does not have 3G/4G services. A mechanism needs to be in place where children can be provided with a module education, at the very least. The grassroots officials can be used to implement this programme. However, another issue arises here, given the challenges related to paper needed for printing. It is imperative that the country’s education experts join together immediately and develop a proper plan for education. Continuing to find fault with each other will not result in any development in any area. Given the ongoing crises, do you believe that the school syllabi should be changed, with the prioritisation of key subjects, instead of offering the wide array we do now? Undoubtedly, yes. I have brought this matter up earlier. We need to reduce the number of subjects. I am not saying that some subjects are bad, but the need of the hour is to prioritise. The fact remains that our education syllabi are not suited to this country or any country in the world, even when we are not in a crisis situation. Education reforms are a must. They need to be presented to the public; parents and students need to know whether the reforms are relevant and suitable. Our extensive syllabi and education system are not suitable for children. I would like to see syllabi that do not burden children unnecessarily and provide children with the learning that they really need.   


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