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| Sunday, 19 March 2006 |
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Junior Observer |  |
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Children to get special focus on State media Most of you must be enjoying listening to the radio. Your favourite programmes could be musical programmes, news or educational programmes. While the radio provides entertainment, don't forget that there is a lot you can learn from it.
Did you know that there will soon be a new radio broadcast dedicated for children? Yes, this new broadcast titled 'Vidula' will be launched on March 28. It will be launched in collaboration with the Education Ministry, according to Chairman, Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation, Sunil Sarath Perera. The special broadcast for children will also be linked with the Regional Broadcasting Services. It will focus especially on distance learning programmes, not only for the children, but for their parents too. This will be an initiative under the project of State media institutions, to provide more and better services for the children of this country. Accordingly, special radio channels and newspapers dedicated to the children of the country are earmarked under this programme. The Independent Television Network will also direct additional focus on children through its programme titled 'Lama Lokaya'. National policy to protect wild elephants Most of you may love elephants and may have felt sad about the large numbers of wild elephants that are being killed every year. Steps, it seems, are now being taken to curb the declining number of pachyderms. The Cabinet recently approved a national policy for the conservation of wild elephants and the establishment of a committee to take immediate action in this regard.
This decision was arrived at by the Cabinet, after a memorandum had been submitted by Environment Minister Maithripala Sirisena, calling for a stop to the human-elephant conflict. According to reports, an average of 150 wild elephants and 50 humans die every year as a result of the human-elephant conflict, and this situation is worse in the dry zone. The encroaching into elephant habitats by humans has led to the animals losing their living and feeding areas, forcing them into human habitats. This has placed both the animals and humans in danger, also causing massive destruction to property and crops, and as a result, financial losses. A survey carried out in 2002 revealed that Sri Lanka, excluding the North-East, has 3,000 wild elephants. This was the second highest elephant population in South Asia, after India.
5S competition in schools A competition was organised by the Maliban company recently to recognise and honour the schools that met the 5S productivity requirements. The project was carried out by the company as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility Project, at the Education Ministry. Twenty five schools took part in the project, out of which 15 were short-listed, based on an evaluation. Panawala Vidyalaya, Godakawela, Mahamathya Vidyalaya, Colombo and Herath Gunaratne Vidyalaya, Madampe became the top three schools, and will receive Rs. 75,000, Rs. 50,000, and Rs. 30,000 worth of school equipment respectively. The equipment will be allocated based on the needs of the school.The other 12 schools within the team of 15 will receive books and sports equipment, also depending on their needs. The other 10 schools that took part will also receive school equipment. All the participating schools received certificates at the awards ceremony. Special awards were presented to the Best Principal, Best Turnaround School and Best 5S Co-ordinator. These awards were won by Al-Hikma College, Colombo, Kiriwaneliya Vidyalaya, Norton Bridge and Ponnilawa Maha Vidyalaya, Ma-Eliya respectively. Newly constructed school opens in Hambantota The newly constructed Deepankara Kanishta Vidyalaya in Hambantota was ceremonially declared open recently by Minister of Education, Susil Premajayantha and Ambassador of Japan, Akio Suda. Around 160 children will benefit from the facilities provided at this school, through the Rs. 23 million grant given by the Government of Japan. A large number of schools along the coastal belt were damaged by the tsunami, and had to be reconstructed or renovated, for the children in those areas to continue their education. The Government of Japan provided funds for the reconstruction of 13 tsunami-damaged schools in the districts of Kalutara, Galle, Hambantota, Batticaloa, Ampara and Jaffna, on the request made by the Education Ministry. The Deepankara Kanishta Vidyalaya in Hambantota was one of the 13 schools newly constructed with these Japanese funds, and was the first to be completed. With the completion of construction work, the school is now equipped with all the facilities required by the students as well as by teachers. The newly constructed building includes an assembly hall, eight classrooms, staff rooms and a library. The Japan International Cooperation Agency assisted in the designing of the school building, while the Japan International Cooperation System was responsible for supervising the project. A Brave World for children The latest in the Brave World series of workshops, for children between the ages of 9 and 13 years, will be held today at the Taj Hotel. It will be presented by Corporate Trainer Gihan Talgodapitiya, who is experienced in conducting such programmes in the Asian region.
A similar programme, the second in the series, was held at the same premises recently where 45 children enjoyed a unique day-out. The Brave World workshops are a novel experience for Sri Lankan children, where the primary focus is to develop a futuristic orientation in the minds of children through a mix of activities, games, films and presentations. While vision and personality development remain as the prime objectives of the programme, children are exposed to the need to develop a sense of achievement and confidence to create a distinctive identity for themselves. Throughout the programme, children are constantly reminded of the
importance of developing academic excellence, sports, extra-curricular
activities and social responsibility, as pre-requisites for 'total person
development'. Children participate in many activities to develop
leadership, team work, creativity and presentation skills. |
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