Outdoors to play games, but also to study: The plight of this school's students
Dharmasoka Vidyalaya in Uswewa close to Anamaduwa, is no popular national school equipped with necessary facilities. It is not a technologically advanced model school either, but a rural school that has been ignored by education authorities for decades.
The school’s only building is in a dilapidated state, forcing students from poverty stricken families to silently undergo extreme weather and study outside. There are no proper toilet facilities for these children or any clean drinking water available either.
Parents had lamented over their inability to get the attention of top level education authorities to improve the facilities of their children’s school.
At present there are 112 students in the school studying from grade one to five. Before, the school had classes until grade nine.
“When it rains the children cannot attend school, because the building is dilapidated and needs to be renovated," said Sunil Adhikari, one of the parents.
"The school was established in the 1980's when the Ingitimitiya project began. It can be developed to become a good primary school, as some of the children received good results at last year's Grade Five Scholarship examinations,” Mr Adhikari said.
Another parent, Inoka Damayanthi, said because most of the parents are daily wage earners who have to work every day, they feel that schools are the safest place for their children.
She said due to strong winds, trees around the school had fallen down, but authorities had failed to remove them.
Puttalam Zonal Education Director W. P. S. K. Wijesinghe told the Sunday Times immediate measures would be taken to resolve the issues faced by the school's children.