Ban unsuitable posters near schools

by Ananda Kannangara

The displaying of unsuitable cinema posters, cut- outs and bill boards near schools, pirivenas and other educational institutions in the country will pollute the minds of school children, Education Minister Susil Premajayantha said.

Speaking to Junior Observer the Minister highlighted that displaying of such posters at places, especially near schools and bus stands where school children gather must be banned for the sake of the younger generation. “It is the duty of everybody who is involved in promoting moral values in children to raise their voices against such happenings, even at this juncture”.

He said even the parents of school going children must raise their voices against the displaying of such cinema posters in close proximity to educational institutions and urge those responsible to remove such posters, with the assistance of local authorities.

“Even at present the number of such posters, bill boards and cut-outs are being displayed near schools and religious places not only in Colombo but also in the outstations as well,” he said. The Minister also said that he has decided to inform the National Film Corporation (NFC) and respective private advertising firms to avoid displaying such posters near schools.

“Such posters could greatly affect the morals of the younger generation and have a bad influence on them,” he said.Meanwhile, a senior NFC spokesman said that a similar programme was launched sometime back with the assistance of Police and other social service organisations. “But it was not successful due to numerous reasons, so it is best if higher authorities take firm action in this matter,” he added.

School children having their mid-day meal

Improving nutrition levels of school children

by Rohana Jayalal

The Education Ministry has discovered that more than 30 per cent of school children attend school without breakfast.Most children among them are between 5 to 10 years, Ministry sources disclosed.

The Education Ministry has therefore decided to increase financial allocations for the mid-day meal programme. It will allocate Rs. 2,900 million for the mid-day meal this year.It had spent Rs. 2,700 million for this programme during the last year and Rs. 1,648 million in 2008 , Rs. 1,296 million in 2007 and Rs.723 million in 2006.

Food is prepared and provided under the supervision of the Education Ministry, and the Health Ministry always assists by monitoring the nutrition levels of students.The World Food Program (WFP), the Health Ministry and the Nation Building Ministry have offered their assistance to the Education Ministry to implement the programme.

The programme which was started in 2006 and is now successfully carried out in 7,618 schools islandwide involving one million students from Grades One to Five. This amounts to 25 per cent of students in the entire country.

Under the programme, the number of underweight school going children was reduced by 7 per cent during the last year alone and the Ministry aims to reduce it further by the end of 2010.More over, the number of students attending school has also increased islandwide during past few years,Ministry sources said.

Haiti earthquake :

Urgent help still needed

The disastrous earthquake which hit Haiti on January 12 after about two hundred years continues to plague the lives of the people in the country as aid that is coming in from around the world is not sufficient to cope with the situation. The death toll is estimated to be about 200,000.

Few survivors have been foundfrom the rubble and aidworkers are still struggling to reach those in need.

Many could be seen desperately trying to keep alive while there is death and destruction all around them. Hundreds of rescue workers along with trained canines labour around the clock to rescue people from under the rubble.Even after three days a few people were found.

 Most of you may have seen on television how international search and rescue teams have struggled during these past few days to rescue people who were buried in the debris.

Many children have been orphaned and homeless in this country which was already a poor nation before the disaster struck.

According to the UN, three million people are in need of food, water, shelter, and medical assistance.

By January 17 only 250,000 ready-to-eat food rations had been distributed.The World Food Program has appealed to leaders around the world to donate 100 million ready-to-eat meals.Haiti's already poor health and infrastructure situation, such as a lack of water and sanitation systems, has brought additional challenges to the rescue operations in the Western Hemisphere’s poorest nation.

The damage done to the main port of the country as a result of the earthquake, as well as the main roads and airport, have limited the distribution of aid.Reports of looting, violence, and lawlessness on the streets of Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince continue as desperation for food and water among the population grows.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for an additional 1,500 police officers and 2,000 troops to be deployed in Haiti to reinforce the 9.000 strong UN peacekeeping forces already present in Haiti.

Even a few Sri Lankans are in Haiti in the peace keeping forces, but they were reported to be safe.Leogane which is about 37 miles from Port-au-Prince was close to the epicenter of the earthquake that struck the island on January 12, and around 80 per cent to 90 per cent of the buildings are reported to be damaged according to a UN, EU, and World Food Program joint assessment.

After searching for survivors among the collapsed buildings in the capital, teams from the UK, Qatar, and Iceland were among the first to arrive in Leogane in search of survivors.Meanwhile, NASA indicated a possible threat for landslides in Haiti.

According to NASA, Haiti's steep mountains combined with tropical rainfall create ideal conditions for landslides. The 7.0 earthquake may have shifted earth making landslides more likely. Satellite images from NASA indicate possible landslides near the earthquake's epicenter.

Facts-AFP