Last week TNL ran a good lengthy discussion on Grade 1 admissions with Premjayantha, the education minister, from SLFP, Maddumabandara from UNP, Bimla Dissanyake from JVP and the priest who looks like ET representing the JHU. The priest kept to his one-track argument that thius whole thing is a conspiracy against Buddhists and Premjayantha and Maddumabandara tossed political footballs about who did what when. Bimal Dissanyake was the only one who seemed to talk sense. Dissanyake started by saying anything we do at this point should give priority to the humanitarian issue of parents caught in the crossfire. From the chief justice down we are yet to hear anybody making a strong argument for a short term solution to relieve the burden on families.
Secretary to the Ministry of Education stated yesterday that the circular to Grade 1 admissions needs further amendments – to be presented before the Supreme Court on next Monday. If anyone has lost count, this is the FOURTH successive time he will do so. Perhaps he will carry out the same exercise in numerous times in future. The modifications he intends to include are by no means minor. In fact, he will be moving from one extreme to the other, as he had done in the previous instances.
Condemning the latest cabinet-approved circular on admission of children to grade one, representatives of past pupils’ associations of over 30 schools countrywide expressed their displeasure over the matter while several filed fundamental rights petitions at the Supreme Court yesterday. Following the FR petition filed by the Ananda College OBA at the Supreme Court on Monday, the past pupils’ associations of a number of other schools including Nalanda College, Royal College, Visaka Vidyalaya, Dharmapala College – Pannipitiya, Anula Vidyalaya and D S Senanayake College filed petitions yesterday morning. At a press briefing organised by the Joint Committee of Past Pupils’ Associations (JCPPA) yesterday it was said that grave injustice had been done to the category of past pupils according to the new circular concerning the points scheme for admitting children to grade one. President JCPPA and Ananda College OBA, Isuru Samarasinghe, said that already seven schools had filed petitions by the time the press briefing commenced yesterday morning and many more would do so by Wednesday morning and the Supreme Court had decided to take up the case for hearing. Explaining the issue, Convener of JCPPA and Vice President Ananda College OBA, Dr.
(This news item from Daily Mirror today looks as it has little to do with education policy. However, it is a good illustration of the difficulties children in some parts of the country had to face in pursuing their studies. Even in this twenty first century we have students who daily walk 5-10 km to reach schools, sometimes risking their own lives as this unfortunate girl had to. Please note this happens in a country that boasts having a school for every 6 square km) The body of a female student sitting for the Advance Level examination at Passara Maha Vidyalaya who went missing since Monday morning, was found yesterday by her mother. The victim Rajapakse Mudiyanselage Kanchana Manohari, a Prefect of the Maha Vidyalaya had left home to answer her final A/L exam paper on Monday morning but had not returned.
Only a 8 per cent of students pursue science subjects. This had caused a wide disparity between educational needs and results, said Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama.He was speaking at the convocation of the Indian Chartered Financial Analysis Institute’s (ICFAI University) Sri Lanka Branch at the BMICH recently. Presently the education system had suffered a setback primarily because vast majority of students have been drawn towards the Arts field, he said.
Marking of GCE Advanced Level answer scripts was crippled yesterday when teachers boycotted the work under apparent pressure from five teacher trade unions. According to trade unionists, paper marking at 16 centres out of the total 27 had ground to a halt. Ceylon Teachers’ Services Union (CTSU) President Dhammika Alahapperuma told the Daily Mirror the combined trade union action was a great success, and vowed to continue with the action until the government sorted out the salary anomalies of teachers. Among the marking centres that did not function yesterday were those located at the Central College, Anuradhapura, St. Joseph’s Balika Vidyalaya, Kegalle, Sujatha and Rahula Colleges in Matara and Maliyadeva Girls’ and Boys’ Colleges in Kurunegala.
The Old Boys’ Association (OBA) of the Ananda College filed a Fundamental Rights application in the Supreme Court seeking to quash the new Year One admission circular issued by Ministry of Education.The petitioner, the Secretary of the Ananda College OBA, Jayasiri Ittepana also sought interim relief to suspend the new circular until the final determination of his rights plea. The petitioner also sought to initiate Contempt of Court proceedings against respondent Secretary to the Ministry of Education on the basis that he had failed to follow the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court. The petitioner stated that the Supreme Court had in determining number of rights applications quashed the previous circular and directed the Secretary to the President to prepare a new formulae based on the guidelines issued by the court. The new formulae was later amended as a result of the resistance in Parliament.
We present this sad story from today’s Lankadeepa about a grade five student who had been prevented from writing the Grade five scholarship examination because her name does not appear in the list. Ajith Premalal, the Principal and the only teacher of Veragoda junior school, where she study has said he did not apply on behalf of this single eligible girl from his 14 student school, because he had not received the application forms from the Department of examinations. Over to you, Mr. Education Minister!
Thanks to the Daily News which carried the article titled “56 entrants to the University of Ceylon celebrate 50th anniversaryâ€, there was a stream of calls from the group of 56 offering their grateful thanks of refreshing their memories and the honour bestowed. Almost a year has passed since the 56 group celebrated the event at Peradeniya.Chandra and Beatrice reminding me of the great day almost simultaneously put the question, “Are we not continuing it this year? Next person to inquire was Shiva looking forward for the next. Metta was reminiscing it at the old girl’s get together.
According to the dAily nEws today, the Government has formulated the Policy Framework related to Admission of Children to Grade One in Government and private schools for 2008. dAily nEws has learnt this from Education Minister Susil Premajayantha.Addressing the weekly Cabinet press briefing at the Government Information Department yesterday, the minister has reportedly said by Cabinet Memorandum No. 2007/ED/E/79, the Policy Frame had been prepared and approved by Cabinet. Applications will be called by advertisements in accordance with this Policy Frame, he had said.