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From the pavement to the portals of education

by Chandani Jayatilleke

Cobbler Jayasiri's three children can often be seen playing on the pavement in Fort, while their father fixes the broken shoe of a passer-by. At another time, the children gaze in admiration at white-clad school children rushing to school in the mornings, from their makeshift home by the railway line.

Clad in worn-out clothes given them by a few generous people, Jayasiri's children are growing up on Colombo's pavements sans education.

Better deal for children

They yearn to go to school. But they know nothing about education or school.

According to the children's mother, Kusumawathi, Jayasiri's income does not allow them to send the children to school. Moreover, they have no documents or a 'pull' to admit their children to school, because they live in a shanty by the railway line in Slave Island.

Like Jayasiri's children, there are thousands of other street children in the country who have not been able to go to school due to many reasons. While poverty is a major cause for this, in many cases, it is the ignorance and selfishness of some parents that keep them away from school.

Unfortunately, children are extensively used to make a fast buck by their beggar parents and shanty dwellers.

Such children would, naturally, end up beggars and also get involved in crime and violence.

Should we allow street children to end up in this misery? Shouldn't there be more programs to rehabilitate them and provide some sort of education/vocational skills to these underprivileged children.

Well... people like Jayasiri can now hope to educate their children following President Kumaratunga's recent initiative to provide scholarships to help educate street children.

The implementation of effective programs to encourage street children to start schooling is a social responsibility.

The Education Ministry has recognised this responsibility quite well. And its non-formal education unit has been working on various programs from conducting surveys, choosing the right group of children, providing the children and their parents with orientation programs to preparing children's minds so that they could easily adjust themselves to the school system, according to the Director, Non-Formal Education Unit, N. Dharmasena.

The Ministry has conducted surveys in various areas including Ratnapura, Kataragama, Bandarawela, Colombo. "Following the survey, we conducted several orientation programs for the children and their parents.

These orientation programs include concerts in places such as streets and bus stands, where the children display their talents to the public.

Through such programs children gain confidence, and their parents also recognise the importance of educating their children, at least to some extent," says Dharmasena.

Following these programs, many street children have already been admitted to schools in these areas. "We have also set up non-formal learning centres in Kataragama, Ratnapura, Bandarawela and Kollupitiya."

However, Dharmasena is of the view that children should be admitted to schools in January every year. Otherwise there will be administrative problems such as passing the child to the next grade etc.

Providing a school alone won't solve the difficulties of the children. "We have to think beyond this point like where do these children go after school? If they are going back to the streets to be with their guardians and continue to beg, our effort is in vain. Therefore, we should also try and find them proper boarding facilities.

Having realised the difficulties faced by these street children after school, all boy children have now been provided with boarding facilities from where they go to school or to the learning centre. "However, girl children continue to live with the parents or guardians because we have not been able to find proper hostel facilities for girls as yet, Dharmasena says.

Under this program, in Colombo alone, 32 street children are attached to Jinaraja Vidyalaya and supported by an NGO called Sanhida. In Kataragama there are 50 boys and 20 girls, Ratnapura 22 boys and 10 girls, Bandarawela 22 boys.

Dharmasena says that the full benefits of this program could be reaped only if the children are provided an environment where they could concentrate on studies after school. Also children above 10 should be sent to vocational training centres, not schools, because they do not have the knowledge to study in year 5 at once. They cannot be admitted to year one because they are too mature to be in this class.

With the scholarship scheme launched by President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga last week, the children will certainly benefit to a great extent. "It's certainly a major step towards this endeavour. We must be thankful to the President for this gesture. It is indeed a great encouragement for the children," Dharmasena says.

He adds that there is a need to conduct fresh surveys on street children in Colombo, Negombo, Kandy and Galle. For instance, the survey in all areas should be done simultaneously. "Otherwise we won't be able to get the correct information. But at present we lack finances to carry out such a huge survey," he says.

To continue with this success story, the Education Ministry needs the assistance of the general public and the business community. They could directly contact the Director, Non-formal Education Unit of the Ministry of Education on 2784847. "We don't want anyone to fall prey to bogus fund collectors."

The continuity of such effective programs is absolutely necessary to give the street children a better future. They surely deserve it and it is the responsibility of the nation to carry out programs to educate and rehabilitate them. That will help fulfil the hopes of Jayasiri and many others, and Jayasiri's children will no longer have the spare time to look at white-clad school children in desperation.

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