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Lesson
from President The issue has snowballed with protest-processions being organised to the sacred Dalada Maligawa and meetings arranged with the Mahanayakes in Kandy. But the President, for once, is showing the nation -- what the Presidential system or the Executive Presidency -- was originally set up to do. That is to do the right thing without being a prisoner to the vagaries of a fragile parliamentary majority. Those protesting are whipping the religious line to defend the principals who have been interdicted for presiding over questionable school admissions. It may be pertinent to recall here that not long ago, there were those who said that there was a conspiracy against Buddhists in government service when the then Public Trustee was being investigated. Now, he has been indicted on 38 charges, which include pilfering from Buddhist trusts. Playing the religious or ethnic card has been the favourite resort of those who have nothing else to defend themselves with. The minorities made a fine art of this. Now the majority has followed suit. Race and religion have become the last refuge of some scoundrels, it would seem. Corruption in school admissions has now spread to every nook and corner of the country, and in the big national schools it is clearly the rule rather than the exception. There are, of course, reasons for this sad situation that cannot be ignored. The country obviously cannot cope with the growing population and the increas demand for good schools. The pressure to see their children succeed in a highly competitive world drives parents to desperate measures to gain admission to the much-sought-after colleges. Once in, the corruption continues unabated. There is bitter competition among some parents to have their children become class monitors or prefects and get into the school team. Parents hang around the grounds when practice sessions are on to ensure their children make the team. In fact, this phenomenon is now identified as one of the problems that led to a major college being thrashed in cricket this season. A set called the Room Mothers officially anointed to help the teaching staff, haunt the classrooms, and favouritism is rampant in some schools as teachers proudly show off their gold bangles and drop broad hints to other parents saying "Mrs. X gave this to me last term". At least one principal of a leading national school has lamented that "it's not the children I have to control - but the teachers". So there are huge problems. But equally, the President must prove her case. Where's the evidence? The reputations of the principals interdicted are in tatters. And it has been awhile since they were interdicted. Already, her PIU (Presidential Investigations Unit) is being likened by her own ministers to the Premadasa era's notorious A.C. Lawrence Investigations Unit which acted like the Gestapo working for Hitler, though hardly as efficient. In another connected issue, there has already been some validity in the concern and agitation, since the President said that some Buddhist schools must open their doors to non-Buddhists. There is a valid argument to oppose this considering that many schools are allowed to be administered by other religious institutions. The question of discipline is also a matter of concern. A recent media expose in Britain where schoolchildren were secretly videoed in class has shocked that nation by revealing in no uncertain terms which way their next generation was heading. The utter disrespect for teachers, the Billingsgate language used, and the easy access to porn sites while on school computers all signalled the degeneration of that nation. In Sri Lanka, the problems are equally acute. Instigating children to stage street-protests and attacking principals and ministry officials may have popular appeal and short-term benefits for those responsible, but will also likely have long-term effects on our increasingly brutalised and lawless society. Is this disregard for authority the example we want to set our children? In the melee, we tend to overlook the heart-rending sight of honest parents losing out to corrupt parents and principals. To allow corruption and bribery to continue in the matter of school admissions is to do nothing about blatant dishonesty. And while we support the President for her courageous stand at this stage, we urge her to make her case swiftly and ensure that the severest punishment is meted out to anyone found guilty. |
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