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Labouring over birth certificates
By Ruwanthi Herat Gunaratne
Your birth certificate is an essential document. This piece of paper records the vital information that you were born, that you now form part of a said country's population. There is nothing that one can do without one's birth certificate. No identity card or passport can be got, one cannot even apply for university entrance without it.

Obtaining it should be a routine matter.

But is it?
Take this case:An expectant woman walks into hospital. Twenty-four hours later she gives birth to a bouncing baby girl. Her family around her, the baby's name is decided on. The proud father happily walks up to the nurse and asks for the birth certificate form. Smiling, the nurse hands it over.

End of fairy tale. Welcome to the real world where the nurse would present the father with another sheaf of papers and instruct him to meet Dr. X to obtain the birth certificate. Then follows an uphill struggle to first locate the good doctor, squeeze past the others crowding the entrance and get the baby's birth registered. Come back in two weeks, the father is told. He takes a day's leave and returns. No certificate. Four months later, the child is still minus one.

Why is it so difficult to obtain a simple birth certificate? Cannot it be issued as the mother and baby leave hospital? There remains a lot of red tape. A lengthy yet supposedly effective method needs to be followed. And the procedure is different for children born in government hospitals and those born in private hospitals.

A child born at the Castle Street Hospital for example has to be registered before leaving the hospital. An office has been set up at the far end of the hospital for this purpose. A Registrar of Births appointed by the Registrar General's Department is supposed to be in office from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. daily, excluding weekends when he is free to choose his own times.

Clearing the backlog at the Registar General's office. Pix by Athula Devapriya, Ranjith Perera and M. A. Pushpakumara

The Registrar General's office down Duplication Road is responsible for the appointment of Divisional Registrars such as the Registrar of Births at Castle Street Hospital. There are over 1300 divisions spread across the country with 13 in the Colombo Metropolitan Area. Each division has only one Registrar of Births and Deaths. The Registrar of Births at the Castle Street Hospital for instance is the Registrar for the Thimbirigasyaya Division; therefore all children born at Castle Street and private hospitals in the area are required to be registered at the Castle Street Hospital.

Unfortunately, though it is not as easy as it seems. The Registrar of Births at the Castle Street Hospital who is required to be in office from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. is not present even at 11:30 a.m. Keeping to these office hours can surely not be a Herculean task? Parents and relatives of newborns are forced to waste precious time over something as basic as the birth certificate.

"I applied for a day's leave to get this done," grumbled one father, who wished to remain anonymous. "I've been here since 9.00 a.m. First they said that the Registrar would be available at 10.00, and then at 12.00, now they say that it may even be 3.00 p.m.! This is ridiculous!"

Amongst the others pacing the corridor were two mothers. One of them was carrying her four-month-old child and holding on to two other slightly older children with her free arm. "This child has still not received her birth certificate and it has been four months since I registered her. I cannot come on another day since it is impossible to leave the other two alone at home," she lamented.

Hospital Director Dr. K.K.W. Karandagoda is unable to help, for though the Registrar's office is within the hospital building, it does not come under his purview. "It is only situated here since a large number of births take place here and it is convenient for parents. I receive five to six complaints a month about that office, but there's little I can do except notify the Registrar General's Department."

When The Sunday Times contacted the Registrar General's Department they acknowledged the problem. "We have received complaints about the Castle Street Registrar many times and therefore appointed a committee to look into the matter. They found that there was a backlog of three months. This is the division where the most number of births take place - a minimum of 50 are registered here on a daily basis."

The Registrar General's Department has now taken over the task of issuing these birth certificates. The Department has employed clerks for this very purpose and the backlog is slowly but surely being cleared up. The Registrar of Births at the Castle Street Hospital reports to the department on a daily basis to sign the relevant forms.

But when parents at the Castle Street Hospital complained to the employees of the Divisional Registrar they were firmly informed that "three- month- old birth certificates will not be given today and to please come back the following Monday", instead of being informed that a new procedure is now in practice. The procedure which is followed in Sri Lanka according to Registrar General L.K. Ratnasiri is evidently the most effective in the South Asian region. Our Registers have recorded 98.2% of the country's population.

Impressive, certainly, but considering cases such as the ones at the Castle Street Hospital, how well is it working?

It is surely unacceptable that parents should undergo unnecessary hassle over this basic document. In some instances, it is not the fault of the Registrars either, since their part in the procedure is not, according to them properly looked into. They say that there isn't proper provision made for them in case of an emergency. The Registrar General's Department officials complain that they do not have adequate resources to fulfil their duty to the best of their ability. Where then has it all gone wrong?

What the law says
As nothing can be achieved minus a birth certificate, it is considered the duty of the Registrar of a division, the parents of the child and of the general public to make sure that every birth is registered.

The law itself stipulates that every newborn should be registered under the Birth and Death Registration Act, within three months of his/her birth.

If the birth for some reason is unregistered at the end of three months, the child can still be registered as a 'Past Birth'. (The registration of a death works likewise.) This system can be followed even for older children.

How does this work?
According to the amendments made in 1992, the most important factor when considering a registration of birth is the child's birthplace. Once the birthplace is established, it is necessary to determine which division it comes under. Each division has its own Divisional Registrar, appointed by the Registrar General.

Either the mother or father of the child should report the birth to the Divisional Registrar. If due to unavoidable reasons, the parents are unable to comply with the rules, any person residing in the same house or an informant appointed by the parents has the right to report it.

The registration of births and deaths is completed free of charge. Only those wishing for additional copies of the birth certificate need to pay a provisional sum.

Registrars of Births and Deaths within the Colombo City limits and at all main hospitals islandwide require either a degree in Western or Ayurvedic Medicine. Other Birth, Death and Marriage Registrars require eight passes at the G.C.E. Ordinary Level Examination and also need to be reputed members of the community with ways and means of supporting themselves.

Applications are called through Gazette Notifications and applicants should fulfil the following basic criteria.

Either male or female, married, permanent residents of the division between 21 - 60 years of age may apply for the post, which is a voluntary position on par with that of a Justice of Peace.

As this is a voluntary position the Registrar General's office is unable to dictate terms to the Divisional Registrars. Ideally this should not be the case since birth certificates are basic documents and births should be registered by persons who hold responsible positions in society.

They should ideally be answerable to the Registrar General's Office.

"This has been the system ever since the inception of the Birth and Death Registration Act," says the Registrar General. "We too would like to see it revised. Permanent employees would definitely be under much more obligation toward the Department."

No money, no people
Divisional Registrars are paid Rs. 10.00 by the department for each birth or death that they register, according to the Registrar General's office. A paltry sum indeed for some like Dr. (Mrs.) Malini Suraweera, the Registrar of the Wellawatte Division under whom Royal Hospital, St. Anne's Hospital and Delmon Hospital fall under. She registers only around 10 to 20 births a month. Dr. Suraweera employs her sister to help with the clerical duties in their rented office on Galle Road. Besides the rent they are also required to pay their own electricity bills.

The Registrar General's Department pays the Registrars an additional Rs. 150 to cover their overheads. "We know that it is not an adequate sum and have forwarded a proposal for revision to the government," says Mr. Ratnasiri. "Inadequate resources have resulted in this. We too are understaffed and would appreciate it very much if the system could be computerized, but lack of funds prevent this."

For Dr. A. Uthumalebbe, the Registrar for the Slave Island Division, the situation is much the same. He too has been a Registrar of Births and Deaths since 1990 and took on the position as he wanted to help the public. "He has already submitted three resignations," says his wife, "But they are yet to be accepted."

Dr. Uthumalebbe's Division covers Nawaloka Hospital, Ratnam's Hospital and the Municipal Maternity Hospital. He employs three young girls to help with the clerical duties, and is working in rented premises. As someone responsible has to be present at all times his wife is available at the Malay Street office from 8.30 to 5.00 every weekday. "There are times we are called at home even at midnight, when there is a sudden death, it can be a hassle."

"If it is such a hassle why do these doctors willingly come forward and accept this?" asks Mr. Ratnasiri. "It is after all a voluntary position." According to Mr. Ratnasiri the competition to apply for the position is incredible.

While the patients at all these hospitals have to go in search of the Registrars of the Division, patients at one of the more exclusive private nursing homes have it easy, for the Registrar or one his employees is available on one day of the week at the hospital itself for birth registrations. The situation seems to be beyond the control of the Registrar General's Office and from a parent's perspective, the system seems terribly unfair.

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