|
|
|
| Sunday, 14 August 2005 |
 |
|
 |
Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
Estate
children need proper education
by M.P. Muttiah Plantation workers still struggle to get proper education for their children. It was only at the beginning of the 20th century that any interest was shown in the education of plantation children after nearly 75 years of neglect.
However, a former planter A.G.H. Wise, took the initiative in highlighting the lack of educational facilities for the plantation children. He read a paper on December 7, 1903 on Education in Ceylon: A Place for Estate Schools, at a meeting of the East India Association in London. In January 1904, the Secretary of State for Colonies Alfred Lyttleton wrote to the Governor of Ceylon, Sir Henry Blake that he had received a memorandum signed by the Association's Chairman, Ledppel Griffin and Secretary C.W. Arathon that "the immigrant Tamils number nearly half a million and that fresh legislation in respect to the education of Tamil children is urgently required." A former Director of Public Instruction, S.M. Burrows was appointed to study and report on the education of the estate children. He said: "The question of intellectual aspirations may be dismissed as irrelevant under the circumstances. It is, on the other hand, advisable that the 'cooly' should be able to read and write simple sentences in his mother tongue, and to do such arithmetic as is implied in the very simple accounts that come into his daily life-e.g. his pay and his personal expenses... By putting into honest and energetic practice the lessons so learnt, he may rise in life, he may save and invest money and become a 'kangany' or 'kanakkapulle'." Wace Commission that was appointed on January 21, 1905 recommended that "the Governor should be empowered to construct schools on estates and recover the cost from employers who failed to comply with government requirements." The Wace Commission recommendations were followed by the first legislation requiring employers to provide schools for estate children- the Rural School Ordinance No. 8 of 1987. However, educational facilities remained poor until the enactment of the Education Ordinance No.1 of 1920. Thus it was clear that estate schools were established under ordinances enacted from time to time by the colonial rulers to force the plantations to provide a primary education to the children of plantation workers. C.W.W. Kannangara Report states that "the education in a democratic country should be free at all stages. Talents and ability are not confined to any social class or group, and any social system must provide for their emergence by the position of equal educational opportunities." However, speaking at the State Council on May 20, 1944, on the recommendation based on his report, Kannangara said that "the question of education in estate schools has been dropped for the present." Though Kannangara ``dropped" estate schools, the Indian Member at the State Council I.X. Pereira on behalf of S.P. Vythilingam moved an amendment to the recommendations to the effect that ``all estate schools should be converted into primary state schools and shall form part of the system of national education." Although it was accepted, but never implemented. Speaking in parliament on April 18, 1962, with reference to the Report of the Committee on Non-School-Going Children, the then Education Minister W. Dahanayake said: "So from every point of view we have to bow our heads in shame when we think of the way in which we are treating estate children in regard to education. However, neither the UNP Government nor the SLFP Government that succeeded was able to give these children a square deal." In the year 1949, there were 997 Registered Estate Schools with 56,168 children. However in 1965 the number of schools dwindled to 852 with 79,911 children. In 1977 the United Front Government took over about 350 out of 721 estate schools. The balance schools were taken over in 1981. Though the process of taking over of estate schools by the government was virtually over in 1980s they remained without basic infrastructure facilities. After the take over, the problem of appointing teachers came to the fore. In 1963, the then Education Minister, Dr. Badudin Mahmud divided Tamil medium schools into two categories, i.e. Tamil and Muslim schools and Muslim schools were brought under Muslim principals. Tamil schools with Muslim majority were converted into Muslim Schools. For example, the Government Tamil Mixed School at Badulla was converted into Al Athan Muslim Vidyalaya and Hali-Ela Government Tamil Mixed School as Al Irshad Muslim Vidyalaya. It was the policy of the Education Ministry that the principals of schools should be appointed on the basis of the religion of the majority of students. Special appointments of teachers to plantation schools were undertaken in 1986, 1988, 1991 and 1995. During each of these recruitment a large number of Muslims obtained appointments as teachers in estate schools. However,within a short period they cited various reasons and obtained transfers. Under the prevailing political conditions it is not difficult to get a transfer. This created vacancies in the estate schools and the students were left in the lurch. The plantation schools have students studying in the Tamil medium who are mainly Hindus and Christians with less than one per cent of Muslims in most of the schools. In the Sabaragamuwa Province (Kegalla and Ratnapura District) there are 24,515 Tamil and 691 Muslim children in the estate sector while the number of Tamil teachers is 590 and Muslims 190. In the Uva Province there are 41,132 Tamil and 287 Muslim children while the number of Tamil teachers is 1,355 and Muslims 73. In the Central Province the number of Tamil children in the estate schools is 101,629 and Muslims 1,296, while the number of Tamil teachers is 3,698 and Muslims 321. In the Southern Province (Galle and Matara districts) there are 1,253 Tamil and 34 Muslim children, while Tamil teachers number 4 and Muslims 44; while Hinduism is being taught by others. It is the government policy that religion is a compulsory subject. The students in estate schools overwhelmingly being Hindus and around 8 percent being Christians need teachers for these subjects to teach in all classes. With this in view Estate Housing, Infrastructure and Community Development Minister, Muthu Sivalingam submitted a Cabinet Paper for appointment of teachers to plantation schools. The Cabinet of Ministers approved the appointments through the Ministry of Education. The government issued a Gazette notification whose preamble clearly states thus: "Competitive Examination for Recruitment of Teachers on School Basis for the Tamil schools located in the Plantation Sector, with a view to remove, educational anomalies and to provide equal opportunities for the children of the estate-worker community - 2005." This is a clear indication that this action of the Government is of an affirmative nature to address educational anomalies of the children of the estate-worker community and to provide them equal opportunities. The UNDP's Millennium Development Goals-Country Report-2005, has clearly shown the plight of the estate children in education. It states: "It is interesting to note that while plantation children are still disadvantaged in access to education and have incidence of non-schooling and dropping out. In 2003, 1501 schools in rural and plantation areas had 4 teachers or less per school". Educationists say it was a decision taken in the right direction. They cite the example of Afro-Americans who enjoy special privileges in education, jobs and other matters, under the Positive Discriminatory Policy. They also say in India privileges are granted to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in enhancing their education. They also say a permanent solution is necessary to prevent controversies in the future. |
|
| News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
| Produced by Lake House |
English planters generally thought education was not only unnecessary to
estate children but harmful to the smooth running of their plantations since
they feared that once the workers were educated they would seek employment
outside their estates. 
