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Schools for 50,000 ‘Out-of-School Children’, School for all by 2015
View(s):Gramasevaka’s and Divisional Secretaries island-wide have been instructed to submit names of children not attending school, and assist the District Secretary compile a list to find schools in their respective areas, the Education Ministry said.
The Ministry said, though the country’s school attendance is foremost among fellow South Asian countries, there are about 50,000 local children not attending school.
“The country’s school admission rate is 98.5%. However, 1.5% of children are without schools. The target is to ensure school education to all these children by year end.
The Education Ministry, along with the State Administration, Economic Development and Local Government Ministries will coordinate to implement this national programme.
The Ministry said that it is working towards reaching the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goal of all children in school by 2015.
The most recent report on children without schools was released by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) last year. The report, ‘Out of School Children in Sri Lanka”, a country study, stated that Compulsory Attendance Committees should be activated to visit homes to identify children not attending school.
“They should be enabled to take proactive measures to raise awareness among parents and caregivers, on the value of education, and provide support to ensure that children are not deprived of their right to education,” the report recommended.
It also recommended that, as many studies have observed it is difficult to exit poverty without an education to at least GCE Ordinary Level standard. A scholarship scheme at the end of Grade 9 should be introduced with donor assistance to assist children with recognized ability, in economically disadvantaged families, to continue their studies without having to engage in economic activities.
UNICEF’s report also suggested that compulsory education regulations and ancillary policies such as alternative provisions for admission of children without birth certificates and prohibition on the levying of school admission fees/donations, should be strictly enforced.
Assistance should be obtained to extend the school meals programme to secondary schools in disadvantaged locations, it recommended.
If education is to compensate for poverty to some extent, education programmes should focus directly on vulnerable groups, to meet their specific needs for assistance, in order to facilitate their access to education. (NF)