Better education facilities for special needs children

by Ananda Kannangara

The need to develop the education of diffrently -abled children in the country was highlighted by the Minister of Education, Bandula Gunawardana at a school function held in Homagama recently. He said that an islandwide survey will be conducted shortly to find out the type of education provided in schools for such children and assess the facilities needed to upgrade their education.

The Zonal Education officials have been already directed to initiate such surveys in their respective areas.

According to current statistics over 20, 000 visually, physically and mentally handicapped children between the ages of six to 16 years receive an education in Government schools.

The Minister said that on a directive of President Mahinda Rajapaksa all children with special needs will be provided better facilities to carry out their educational activities without any hindrance in the future. Steps will be taken to provide adequate educational equipment such as books in braile, special sports gear and also white canes for the needy children .

The Minister said that like all normal children, the special needs children too have the right to education and they should be provided the opportunity to enhance their knowledge and also develop their inherent talents. These children who are not only greatly talented but also very courageous should be encouraged to be partners in the country's future development activities, he said.

He said that there are six state sector schools that provide an education to the visually impaired children while a few other schools conduct classes for children with special needs such as the physically and mentally impaired children .

The Minister pointed out that giving handicapped children an opportunity to learn alongside other normal children helps build their confidence and also prevents the build up of any prejudices towards such children in society.

Commending the invaluable service rendered by the Blind School at Ratmalana, the Minster said that the school has produced many important citizens .

He said that presently there are over 10,000 visually impaired children attending school island wide.

Fairy-wren babies need password for food

It's always a good idea to listen to your mother, but that goes double for baby fairy-wrens even before they are hatched.

If those fairy-wren babies want to be fed, they need to have a password -- a single unique note -- taught to them by their mothers from outside the egg.

The nestlings incorporate that password right into their begging calls, according to researchers .

This remarkable example of prenatal learning is an adaptation that apparently allows fairy-wren parents to discriminate between their own babies and those of parasitic cuckoos who have invaded their nests.

Females also teach their mate and any helpers the password by singing it to them in a "solicitation song" performed away from the nest.

"Parents and others attending the nestlings will only feed them if their begging calls contain the learned password," said Sonia Kleindorfer of Flinders University in Australia.

Otherwise, the parents simply abandon the nest and start again. The findings show that even traits that appear innate may actually be learned.

-ScienceDaily

More funds allocated for education

The Government has proposed to allocate more funds for the education sector under the 2013 budget which was presented in Parliament by President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his capacity as the Finance Minister. Funds for the Education Ministry have been increased by Rs 3.43 billion from last year to Rs 37.9 billion while the Higher Education Ministry has been allocated Rs 27.9 billion, which is an increase of Rs 4.1 billion from 2012.

It has also proposed to develop isolated rural schools to create a child friendly school environment and provide free cereal, milk and eggs to each child attending such schools.

The Government also proposes to provide an additional uniform set and a pair of shoes to students in difficult areas. Rs 900 million will be allocated for Provincial Teacher Training as more teachers will be recruited to resolve the teacher shortage in provinces and improve the primary education in the country.

The 2013 budget also proposed to allocate Rs 4,000 million for the enrol ment of 5,000 A/L students additionally to universities as per Supreme Court order.

Nena Sala centres will be set up in every Grama Niladari Division utilising Government buildings and religious places to provide IT education to the youth.

The Government spent Rs.150 billion on free education in 2012 which amounted to around 9 per cent of the Government's total expenditure.
 

Children's painting exhibition

A children's painting exhibition is being organised by Alliance Française De Colombo from December 7 to 8 at its auditorium at 11, Barnes Place, Colombo 7.

It is open to three categories of children aged from 6-10 years, 10-15 years and 15-18 years.

Child artists are invited to send in their applications before November 28, 5 p.m. to the above address.

A panel of judges will select the best 20 artists' paintings for the exhibition.

Application forms and details could be obtained from the Alliance Francaise De Colombo during office hours.

(Telephone 2694162 / 2693467).