Uniform material, poor in quality and short in length have been distributed among schools, the treasurer of the Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU), Nishantha Deshapriya, charged yesterday, claiming that children have been given sub-standard, transparent material to stitch uniforms.
“Uniform materials should be given to children before the new term starts, but they were given to students only recently. Two and a half metres are not enough for some children and this particular material is not available in the market,” he said.
The government has decided not to provide schools considered ‘isolated schools’ in many areas, any facilities. These schools will be excluded from the 1,000 schools programme implemented by the government, said Joseph Stalin, Secretary, CTU.
At a press conference held yesterday, he said though the World Bank had donated funds for the development of schools, none of the schools has been provided with basic facilities such as desks and chairs.
“Currently, corruption is rampant in the education sector.
The highest number of complaints the Bribery and Corruption Commission has received is against the education sector. Admission of students to Grade 1, 6 and 11 is underscored by malpractice as school authorities demand money from parents although they have been advised not to do so,” he said.
He added that in rural areas, authorities charge Rs 10,000 from parents to construct buildings in primary schools, and in reputed schools, parents have to pay Rs 50,000- 60,000. “The government has spent Rs 30 million to print diaries, calendars and notebooks that are of no use. This has become a national issue because several schools are collecting money from children for projects – e.g. constructing swimming pools,” he charged.
“The government also has grandiose plans to privatize education, and have misplaced priorities,” he said.
He said the nutrition allowance due to students has not been given as yet, and demand that this allowance be given to children, soon. He also alleged that allocating funds for scholarships to students and the property loan to teachers have been stalled.
http://www.ceylontoday.lk/51-22753-news-detail-corruption-rampant-in-education-sector-ctu.html