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  Saturday, 19 February 2005    
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Upholding the child's right to an education

President Kumaratunga's firm restatement of the Government's commitment to upholding every Lankan child's right to an education, is certain to have had a reassuring impact on the local public.

This is principally because, prior to the UPFA Government coming to power, all was not seen to be well in Lanka's public school system.

For instance, rumours were widespread at one time that some provincial schools were facing closure. Apparently, the resolve among some past administrations to uphold the Lankan child's right to an education - which came to be regarded as a veritable birthright - was eroding fast in the wake of private interests encroaching steadily into sphere of primary and secondary education.

This would have amounted to standing Lankan educational policy, with its egalitarian underpinnings, on its head.

However, by taking on the education portfolio with the advent of the UPFA Government, President Kumaratunga looks set to reverse this process of virtually selling the Lankan child's inalienable right to a free education.

It is likely to be the wish of every humanist in this country that public education would remain a State preserve. For, public education is an essential service which should be made available on the basis of equality to all.

This has been a principal policy of the Lankan State since 1948 and it should remain this way if the State is to continue to project an essentially welfarist identity.

Of course, Sri Lanka's welfare base has suffered steady erosion over the decades in the wake of the increasing popularity of privatization and the open economy, but consecutive administrations have ensured that at least essential services, such as education, health and sections of the public transport system, have remained in the hands of the State.

This is principally because the majority of our people are poor and simply cannot get along without State succour and assistance.

President Kumaratunga in particular, has considered it wise - and rightly so - to not only exercise supervisory control over public education but to also be the prime mover in educational reform.

The reasoning behind this policy of State direction and control is not only that the State should be guided by humanitarian considerations but also that our human resources should be steadily developed for the task of material advancement and economic growth.

Thus, it is encouraging to find that the Government is remaining committed to the policy of free education. May it remain that way, is our wish.

   

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