2024-02-02
The sky above the Erakkandi Lagoon is clear. One or two clouds float slowly towards the sea once in a while in the sky above the lagoon. In the land opposite the school, there is a thick grove of coconut (Neralu) trees of about 60 years old. Two young men are plucking coconuts from those trees – one has climbed up a tree, and picks the mature coconuts by kicking the nuts, and plucks them; the other collects the coconuts that fall on the ground. These boys, who are just sixteen, seem to have finished schooling early. That is because they have not been able to pass the G.C.E. (O/L) examination. They pluck coconuts because there is nothing else to do; they catch fish with their nets. The lagoon and the lands nearby have become their sources of income. It is extremely sad and disappointing to see that they have had to earn a living in this manner.
Erakkandi Sinhala Vidyalaya, located in Walayuththu in Kuchchaveli, along the Trincomalee – Mullaitivu coastal road, which is one of the 15 Sinhala medium schools belonging to the Trincomalee Education Zone, is the school where these boys received their primary education. Although it is named as a Sinhala medium school, it is special about this school that Tamil and Muslim children, too, study here — it is a perfect integration. It is so exceptional because Erakkandi Sinhala School is the only mixed school in Trincomalee, where children from multi-religious and multi-ethnic backgrounds study in harmony and in close cooperation up to secondary level.
This so exceptional school that provides education to all Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim children in the areas around Erakkandi and Walayuththu villages of the Kuchchaveli Divisional Secretary’s Division is faced with the threat of decline. Despite the availability of adequate physical resources for the students who are currently studying at this school, the lack of required human resources seems to have caused the issues.
Most of the students who study from Grade 1 up to Grade 11 at this school give up schooling after being unable to pass the GCE (O/L) examination. The education authorities cannot be unaware of the fact that there haven’t been enough teachers in this school for 13 years to teach these students the nine subjects that are tested through the question papers at the examination in order to enable these students to pass the examination.
The Ministry of Education has so far been unable to solve the issue of shortage of teachers in this school, which was reopened in 2010 after it had been closed for 25 years since 1985 consequent to the disturbances due to terrorist activities that prevailed in these areas. Mr. Nandana Samansiri, the principal of this school, emphasizes that the commitment of the eight female teachers who come from remote areas and are currently teaching at this school is so deep, and that the lack of teachers for the other subjects has become the biggest obstacle in enhancing educational achievement of these students.
The Rule of Law Forum recently launched an initiative to donate learning aid to this school under the “Jana Pasal” concept appreciating the commitment of this courageous principal who organizes various programmes together with the teachers working at the school in order to enhance the knowledge of the children.
Although there are classes from Grade 6 up to Grade 11, the lack of teachers for subjects such as English, Science, Mathematics, Aesthetics, Health and Physical Education, Tamil, and Catholicism is the biggest obstacle for the education of these students. It is really unfortunate that out of the students from Grade 6 to Grade 11, nine students cannot read or write at all. Spending some additional time on these students who do not have the basic literacy, apart from teaching the subject matters in the syllabi for the other students is something that fatigues the teachers currently working at this school. The number of students with a lower level of educational achievement due to lack of teachers for the major subjects is 43.
The school does not have the required ‘B Type’ desks or chairs for children in the secondary classes. Students in the secondary classes, too, study using the same type of desks and chairs used by the students in the primary section. It makes these students uncomfortable. The unavailability of a non-academic staff in the school is disadvantageous, and the lack of adequate facilities in the teachers’ quarters make the resident teachers uncomfortable. Despite all these severe shortages, the dedication of the teachers of this school for the education of the children is commendable.
Although the Scholarship Examination and the G.E.C. (O/L) Examination are held across the country as general examinations, it is regretting to note that Erakkandi Sinhala Vidyalaya has not been able to make a notable number of students pass those examinations. Mr. Nandana Samansiri, the principal, says that although no student has passed the Scholarship Examination this year, all the students have got more than 75 marks. It is the same with the results of the G.E.C. (O/L) examination this year – no student has passed the examination. However, the teachers feel proud that the students have been able to pass with good results the few subjects that they have taught. After failing the exam, these heavy faces will say goodbye to the school which they have studied at for eleven years and will leave the next day. You or I may see their faces again one day in the lagoon around the school or in a shop or in a coconut grove. The duty and responsibility of the authorities should be to fill the teacher vacancies promptly and to provide the necessary resources without letting the students at the next levels of this school languish.
– Lakmal K. Baduge –