Why are some favoured?
The National Housing Development Authority has
called for applications for the sale of building blocks in Hantane, Kandy.
It is surprising that the offer for sale of this state property is restricted
only to employees of Government, Local Government or State Corporations.
The Authority's notice further states that the eligibility of applicants
will be assessed through an interview! The sale price per perch has already
been determined.
As regards this action by the NHDA, the following questions arise. Why
should only Government sector employees enjoy the right to apply for purchase
of state property? As a Government policy, should not every interested
citizen of Sri Lanka have an equal opportunity to participate and compete
on identical terms and conditions? Does the method of sale bring the maximum
financial benefits to Government by way of price? Does not the selection
of buyers by interview lead to abuse, misjudgement and allegations of corruption?
Does not national policy with regard to disposal of public assets apply
to the NHDA?
There are the Financial Regulations, Government Tender Procedures and
Treasury Circulars which are meant to give, inter alia, and equal opportunity
to all while eliminating irregularities.
AKB
Kandy
Not on duty when duty called desperately
I am a patient subject to hypertension, short breath
and wheezing who experienced a very trying and startling moment at the
District Hospital, Sainthmaruthu on Saturday, July 25.
It was around 12.30 am this night that I got an attack of the above
mentioned ailment. My wife together with my little daughter dared to go
all alone in the midnight in search of a three wheeler and finally turned
up with one by 1.20 am.
A striking contrast to the gesture of the commoner the three wheeler
driver became distinct during the next half an hour wait at this District
Hospital, where the panic-stricken male nurse and attendants on duty desperately
tried to contact the doctor who was asleep at his hospital quarters.
Without even caring to pay due attention to their pleas, he slammed
the door closed with the words 'I am not on duty this night' and mentioned
the name of the doctor who was on duty. The house of the doctor concerned
is about 3/4 of a mile from the hospital. Time was mercilessly running
out. My condition was deteriorating.
From their discussion, I could gather the unofficial and ridiculous
arrangement of the doctor on duty: The ambulance driver was to take any
urgent case to his home in his ambulance if it was late night. The patient
was to be examined by him and given the instructions and prescription prior
to admission. I was too horribly weak to react to these utterances. I struggled
myself to speak out, but I couldn't. Finally, with the greatest strain,
I mumbled "Kalmunaikudy Hospital".
My wife together with my son and his friends rushed me to this hospital
which is about one and a half kilometers from my residence. There, the
attendants acted briskly, carried me to a bed and left to contact the doctor
on duty. The doctor turned up in a matter of five minutes and did all what
he could in spite of the scanty equipment available there.
He looked an angel to me at that moment. He spent two hours with me.
He left around 4.30 am, after making sure that I was out of danger. I was
made to understand that I had been heading for heart failure!
Now my condition has returned to normal. But the questions remain haunting
me, as they are with other people who had similar experiences or are at
least aware of this deplorable state.
1. What would have become of me or a case worse than me since it is
highly risky to take a patient to Base Hospital, Kalmunai at midnight passing
the strong check points of the armed forces?
2. Will the administration, paralysed with bureaucracy and red-tape
be ever relieved of this miserable state and resort to its noble services?
3. Can it build up the lost hope of the general public of this village?
M. I. M. Fuad
Sainthmaruthu
A school admission Bill is a must
A letter titled "School Admission Circular"
by Stanislaus de Silva published in a daily paper of 20.7.98 is grossly
biased and misleads the public as well as educational authorities.
As over 400,000 parents or guardians have forwarded the applications
for admission of their children to schools and are eagerly waiting to be
called for interviews, some corrections to his article are necessary to
educate the parents and also to prevent prejudices arising therefrom, especially
among the members of the School Admission Committees.
Mr. Stanislaus says the schools were not taken over to open them up
for other denominations or to safeguard human rights. However, it is well
known that a large number of children belonging to other religious faiths
were admitted to these denominational schools in the past.
Mr. Stanislaus mentions that many parents with financial means are transferring
ownership of houses around popular schools, spending big money and displacing
genuine poor dwellers who have a better claim for admissions. He also poses
the question whether we should leave room for the rich to take away the
rights of the poor people of the soil who live near schools and wonders
what human rights this is. All these years and upto 1995, for school admissions,
the requirement had been to prove that the parent or guardian has continuous
permanent residence from the 1st of January of the year preceding the year
in which applications for admissions were called. However, in calling applications
for admissions for the year 1996, this requirement was raised to three
years as at closing date of applications. Subsequently for the year 1998
and 1999 admissions, it was raised to six years. This type of sudden restrictions
deprive admissions to popular schools, for a large number of children of
the Tamil and Muslim communities who had to leave their homes in the North-East
for security reasons.
As a fair number has taken residence in the Colombo district, one would
think that the gradual raising of the minimum permanent residence requirement
to six years (and to 10 years to get the maximum marks of 20 under the
marking scheme for admissions) is to prevent these children entering popular
schools. One of the most important Acts passed by the People's Alliance
Government is the Human Rights Commission Act No. 21 of 1996 where the
power is vested to inquire into and investigate complaints regarding infringement
or imminent infringement of Fundamental Rights caused by executive or administrative
action and to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Constitution
relating to fundamental rights and to provide resolution thereof.
As no legal expenses are involved, it is a great relief to the parents/guardians
to go before the HRC (Human Rights Commission) for redress when discriminatory
practices are adopted by the school authorities on the basis of religion,
race, political grounds, caste etc. while performing their official duties.
For the year 1998, a large number of complaints have been filed at the
Human Rights Commission for non admission of their children to the Year
One classes of popular schools due to various reasons.
Apart from parents taking their complaints to the HRC, the Education
Ministry Circular No. 19996/14 dated 12.8.96 and the subsequent amendments
made thereto, and which are to be applied for the 1999 school admissions
have now been challenged, as several conditions in the circular violate
the fundamental rights to equality of individuals and religious groups.
It is essential to prepare a well-planned School Admission Bill giving
the complete guidelines to be followed by all School Heads in the admission
of children, and present it to the Parliament for approval.
Dr. A. R. Mohamed.
Kandy
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