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| Sunday, 26 February 2006 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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School blues by Umangi de Mel While the topic still seems hot and extremely relevant, let's try being in their shoes, to see how it feels.
Gayathrie Ruberu, a mother whose son travels to Colombo from Wadduwa, says it's very unfair by small children who just don't have the time to play anymore, "My seven year old has to get up at 5.15 a.m. just to get ready before the van arrives at 6.10 a.m. And it's absurd! How can you expect a seven year old to get up when even you can't make up your mind to get up at 5.15 a.m.? It's pitch dark, and I feel terrible to send him at that time, but we don't have a choice. Every one strives to send their kids to good schools which are quite far from homes. My son comes home dead tired at about 3 p.m. having finished school a good couple of hours back. You can't keep them in the hostel or a boarding place, they're too small. You really don't have a choice... I feel really sorry for these kids who can't enjoy their childhood the way we did, during our time." Nelia Manmohan whose children travel from Hanguranketha to Kandy feels pretty lame about having no other choice. "My children have to get up and be ready by 6 a.m. They get really late to come back as well. They hate the idea of being boarded elsewhere but they find it very difficult to cope up as well. My youngest daughter falls sick often as she doesn't have the strength to fight it back. All they do in their small lives is waste time in a wretched school van, and worry about the next day." Eight-year-old Hirushi Udawatte who travels from Piliyandala to Kalubowila in a school van says she's 'very tired' after coming home, "I like getting up early. I go to sleep around 8.30 p.m. before which I finish my homework. But I get to play only during the weekend." Florence Udawatte, Hirushi's mother says that not only her daughter, but her two year old son too gets up at 5.30 in order to go to school, "My son sleeps in the van and has a late lunch because he's tired, and Hirushi who comes home around three p.m. after finishing school at 1.35 p.m. is too tired to do anything else. The school van takes more than an hour to get back home, whereas a trishaw merely takes ten minutes. The kids don't have time to play, but it's safer and convenient in a school van. Also, it's always good to start your day early, but at the same time, kids are deprived of enjoying a sport or an outdoor activity, due to this time factor." Sonia Alwis and Nelum Perera (two mothers) reveal that it's no cake walk, "Our kids who are aged six, seven and eight are eternally grumbling about the school van and the time factor. Obviously they hate having to get up early morning. Sometimes the van comes at about 6.30 or even before that, which means the kids must get up at about 5.30 a.m. But it's a whole process. We have to wake them at least ten times for them to drag their feet off the bed. And then they'll take another 15 minutes to cuddle up with their milk, and they sometimes sleep in the toilet which is rather a sorry sight." Sonia who resides in Wattala says that the driver refused to take her son as he threw up in the van every day as a result of getting up and having his breakfast early, "He used to get up around 5.45 a.m. and after finishing school at 12, he would come home around 2.30 p.m. He's dead tired by the time he gets home and doesn't have time to play or study." In the meantime Nelum points out more about the issue, "It's not worth the trouble. Some mothers may feel that getting up early is good for the kids, but they fall ill and complain of many ailments. You really feel sorry for them as they rarely have any time left to enjoy their childhood. Sometimes, the school vans are overcrowded and the children don't even get a seat." Tharindu Munasinghe, a student of Ananda College, travels from Mathugama in a school van. Having to get up at 4.30 a.m. as the van comes to his place at 5.30 a.m., he says it's very tiring, especially because he gets back home around 4.30 p.m. "The trip is fun but after coming home, I can barely keep my eyes open. And I've got to do some studying also before I go to sleep at night. It's an utter waste of time, especially for the smaller children as they don't get much time to play. Most of the day's spent in a stuffy school van. It's an everyday thing and thinking about it alone gives you the creeps." Charika Weerasinghe, says her two daughters aged seven and twelve travel from Maharagama to Colpetty in the school van. "They get up at 5.45 a.m. because the van comes at 6.30 a.m. Although the school finishes at two p.m. they come home around 3.30 p.m. My small one's grumpy, but the other one's got used to it. We don't have a choice as mothers but to send them in the van, because taking them to school in the bus is worse I think, and if I fall ill, they have no way of going to school. School vans are convenient in a way. Actually it's a bit of both good and bad. I don't force my kids to do things when they come home, but get it done on the sly. I tell my children to start on their home work after they finish washing and eating, and tell them that they could play if they finish soon. Only hitch is, some drivers can't be contacted in emergencies. Sometimes, we don't know where the kids are." Vasantha Pathirana, deputy counsellor of the Child Protection Authority talks about the issue, "The human body system switches off from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., during which the body temperature is low and sleep is essential. Especially when it comes to small children, their systems require this time period badly. But as they don't have a choice, they wake up early morning with the greatest difficulty. Hence they are mechanical. Having completed the tasks like a machine, the child doesn't eat on time, and most mothers don't prepare a nutritious meal that early. They'll eat whatever they're given without even thinking about it. That's really bad. The children can be stressed out and become pretty stubborn. Sometimes when the child goes back home, parents aren't home to welcome them. Then the kid will just lie down till they get home after work, without having their meals on time. Parents should know better than to punish the child if he's stubborn. They should know that he's tired after travelling for hours in the van. But most of the parents don't realise that. Instead they'll force the kid to take a wash before he's given anything to eat or drink. Actually it should be reversed. The kid badly needs a peaceful mind and not pushy set of parents. He's not only physically down, but it affects him psychologically as well. Parents should make him feel good. They should handle the situation in a better manner where the kids won't feel reluctant to look forward for a tomorrow where he might be going through the same experience." She feels that the competition's too much for small children, and they need to engage in outdoor activities as well, "Be positive and watch out, your kids might fall ill otherwise." |
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Rinoza Nazoor, a mother of two feels that she should have sent her
daughters to a school close to her place in Ratmalana. "Ikrima and Sara go
to Muslim Ladies' College and the school van comes at 6 a.m. They get back
home at about 2.30 after school. Of course I've to wake my small one so many
times before she finally gets up." 
