Guide children on correct path

The news of two schoolgirls, sisters, who were arrested by the Piliyandala police last week for picking pockets came as a rude shock.

The two girls, in their mid and late teens, had been arrested for picking pockets in public passenger transport buses. This is an eye-opener for all. The two sisters, in Grades 9 and 12 of a school in the Piliyandala area, had been in the habit of picking pockets in crowded buses targeting standing passengers by offering to take care of their personal belongings.

The duo had thereafter deftly relieved the passengers of their wallets. The police had recovered over 30 such wallets from the sisters who had used the stolen money to purchase expensive perfumes and garments. The schoolgirl sisters, who had been living away from their parents, had even gone to the extent of stealing a wallet of a woman police constable in the Piliyandala area a month prior to their arrest.

On the other hand, we often see the negative impact of mobile phones in the hands of schoolchildren. Though the school authorities have banned mobile phones in schools, many students continue to use mobile phones.

The mobile telephone, no doubt, has its advantages in that it could be used by a student to get in touch with his parents or guardians to inform them of emergency situations, early closure of school and other related information, such as, when the student should be picked up after school or sports practices.

A mobile phone with the basic features costing a couple of thousand rupees is more than enough for the purpose. However, some ignorant parents buy sophisticated mobile phones for their children. Irrespective of their children’s needs at that tender age, some parents gift children mobile phones with video camera and 3G facility with access to the internet. This is how we give the younger ones room to go astray.

Some teenage students are adept at downloading pornographic material on their mobile phones. The Colombo Children’s Court last week ordered the Police Women and Child Protection Bureau to seek the assistance of mobile telephone operators to explore the possibility of either restricting or blocking porn sites accessed via mobile phones.

The order followed a complaint lodged by a parent that his child was accessing porn sites via the mobile phone including websites banned by the Government. It was disclosed that around 50 foreign porn websites could be accessed via mobile phones. Access to these sites should be restricted at all costs.

Though the Police Women and Children’s Bureau had previously sought the help of the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (TRC) to block access to porn websites via the mobile phones, the TRC, by law, needed legislation or a Court order to do so.

With the Police Women and Children’s Bureau taking up the issue with the Children’s Court, an order could be made to ban access to the sites based on the recommendations of mobile companies. The officials who took prompt action in this regard should be commended for their efforts to protect the future generation.

These news items are a stunning revelation of a pathetic situation which concerns the younger generation. Most of these problems are a sequel to the open economic policy which was introduced by J.R. Jayewardene’s UNP regime in 1977.

It is an open secret that children who don’t have proper parental care fall prey to this type of acts. For example, the two girls who were arrested for picking pockets had not been under their parents’ care.

Family problems between parents also have an adverse effect on the mentality of children and as a result, the younger ones tend to seek various options to spend their free time. If parents devote more time for children, this type of unfortunate incidents could be drastically reduced.

More often than not, schoolchildren who use expensive mobile phones live either with a single parent or under a guardian. Some students whose parents are abroad and are living with relatives also utilise the large sums of money sent by their parents to purchase expensive mobiles or high-tech devices which could lead them astray. These high-tech devices could be used in a negative or positive manner. If such a facility is misused or abused, it could ruin people’s lives.

Parents and elders cannot apportion the blame entirely on children and exonerate themselves as they have a moral responsibility to keep a sharp eye on the conduct of their offspring. Children are groomed to become future leaders and take up responsibilities. Hence, it is the duty of elders to guide them on the correct path.

Today’s schoolteachers, unlike in the past, are unable to take strict disciplinary action against their charges as the so-called human rights activists could come to the rescue of schoolchildren who are found wanting. Hence, teachers at times have little or no option but to grin and bear what their miscreants do unlike a few decades ago.

Nevertheless, the Government has taken commendable steps to protect the younger generation from various social problems. President Mahinda Rajapaksa has always emphasised the need of inculcating our rich social and cultural values among the younger generation. While allocating more funds for education and health, the Government has taken appropriate steps to enrich students with knowledge to make them loyal and law-abiding citizens. The best way to counter the social menace gripping children is by educating and cautioning them on the negative impact of unruly behaviour. Parents and teachers should have a better rapport with their children and students in understanding the problems they face and finding practical solutions.

It is the bounden duty of one and all to guide children on the correct track and show them the path to success. Unless we protect and groom them to face life’s challenges, the nation’s future could be bleak.