Pannala PS gifts equipment to students

H. M. Abeysinghe Kuliyapitiya group corre.

To mark the Golden Jubilee celebration of Wadumunnegedara Mahabodhi Primary School, Pannala Pradeshiya Sabha donated school equipment worth Rs. 40,000 to the students. Each student got a school bag, a pair of shoes with socks and six exercise books.

At the simple ceremony held to mark the donation the Chairman Pannala Pradeshiya Sabha Ranjith Lansakara said, this school is at the verge of closure for want of children. It is said that a closure of a school will open a prison. So the Pradeshiya Sabha had launched a project of closing prisons by way of helping the rural schools.

He added, the funds for these donations are not Sabha funds but the contribution of the members. All the UPFA and UNP members contributed for this cause.

He said, Pannala PS is not restricted to maintain roads and culverts, fixing street lamps, cleaning the towns etc. Apart from those traditional services we have extended our services for human resources development sector too. Last year we donated school equipment to two schools, in this year more children had sought admission to those schools. That is a victory of the educational field.

Giriulla Zonal Director of Education Athula Alagiyawanna said, our ancestors though they were not educationists were aware of the educational principle that the primary education be given to the village school.

He said those good old days each family had eight to ten children. So they built a school in the villages donating their own lands for their children to learn.

However in the later years with the introduction of the concept “Small family is Golden” the number of children in a family was reduced to maximum of three. In most cases one or two.

So with the intention of giving a good education to the children the parents send them to popular urban schools. As a result the rural schools would be closed for want of children. The closure of schools is not a good trend.

The DE said, in every school whether urban or rural the same syllabus is taught. In rural schools the teachers can pay special attention for the weak children, but in popular urban schools the teachers proceed with the clever children leaving the weak children behind.

I appreciate the contribution of Pannala Pradeshiya Sabha towards educational development.

Pannala Divisional Director of Education H.M.S.B. Herath, the Principal Wadumunnegedara Mahabodhi Primary School Luxman Perera and retired Principal K. Kumaraswami also spoke.