Author: Abdu Ouarghine

Editor: Elisah Sauerbier, Kintan van Leeuwen

In the past years, we have established more relations with humanitarians that are active in the field of development projects and education development in Sri Lanka. We were introduced to Chula Samarawickrama, who is a Sri Lankan social activist for the fulfilment of human rights. She joined us during our field research and applied her expertise and experience to guide us. The following is a report of the things we have observed at the four schools we visited during our field research.

Visiting All Saints College

On the 19th of October 2022, we had an appointment with the principal of ‘All Saints College’ in the Dutch fort in Galle, on the south coast of Sri Lanka. The fort was constructed by Dutch colonists during their colonial occupation of Sri Lanka. Galle Fort is now a UNESCO heritage site and is frequently visited by tourists. Once we arrived at the school, we could see that the school was well-maintained, as it had freshly painted walls and a new wooden gate. When we entered the school and searched for the principal's office, we were informed that the principal was absent. Therefore, we couldn't get permission to go inside the classrooms. A couple of teachers talked with Chula and told her that we could get a quick tour around the hallways. It was shown to us that this school often receives donations from foreign organisations, which are used for the maintenance and operations of the school. 

All Saints College is an all-boys school which provides education to around 2000 students between the ages of five to nineteen years old. Most of these students live in the suburbs of Galle. They were all wearing clean white uniforms and shoes and sat in classrooms filled with chatter. The students are taken to the Buddhistic shrine every morning to do their daily prayers before classes start. The shrine was also a donation and contains a Buddha statue behind glass.

At the school, there are a total of 80 teachers, most of them are women. The subjects taught at the school are three languages; Sinhala, Tamil and English. Besides, they teach eight other subjects, such as maths, geography, history, technology, science, etc. The children can also receive extra help with their schoolwork when needed by receiving individual attention on occasion.

All the children have access to a bathroom and a canteen, where they can purchase their lunches. The children can exhibit their creativity by hanging drawings, or other artistic pieces on the wall. Some of the highlighted topics for their artwork were ‘children's day’ and ‘teachers day’. 

Despite the spacious classrooms, the many facilities and the teachers, the one thing that could be improved at All Saints College is the admission costs. To enrol one must pay 5000 Sri Lankan Rupees. These expenses are unaffordable for most parents, especially since the cost of attending a public school in Sri Lanka is usually free.

Searching for schools in remote areas

After having visited the first school, we continued our journey, this time taking a more adventurous approach, which according to Chula would be more effective. Chula had asked the tuk-tuk drivers to bring us to a place where they would know help would be very much needed, unlike All Saints College. The tuk-tuks drivers conversed with each other and after some driving, stopping and asking for directions, we ended up in a rural area in the farmlands. Suddenly a school appeared, sitting on the top of a hill. This primary school is called ‘G/panagamuwa Amarasinghe’, which is also a Buddhistic school. The road leading to the school is smaller and isn’t paved at the end. The primary school educates 24 students whose parents are fishermen, field labourers or farmers. They come from poor families in which the parents don’t earn enough money to buy their children shoes or uniforms for school. This time the principal was present and warmly welcomed us into his office. He told us about the school, which was built in 1953 by the government but hasn’t been renovated ever since. He showed us printed pictures of donations that other schools in the area had given to them in the past year. The donations existed out of second-hand uniforms and food packages. However, principal Samaraweera told us that they are in urgent need of more support to ensure that the school is a safe environment to learn and teach.

The principal, mister Samaraweera, showed us around while the kids were busy chasing each other on the playground. The first thing we noticed was the outdated playground equipment. All the equipment was rusty and broken, as can be seen in the photographs beneath. 

When the children play, their clothes get dirty and for most this is the only uniform they have to wear to school. The uniforms are financed by the government since it’s a school owned by the government. Still, one uniform is not enough to retain for an entire year, because it can’t be washed during the weekdays when the children need to attend school. Principal Samaraweera also showed us the broken and leaking roof, which has not been renovated since the school was founded. This causes some classrooms to be unsafe to teach in. 

After 5th grade, the children must go to another school, because this school only provides primary education. At their following school, the children need to pay tuition, which is unaffordable for most of these families. This forces the children to go to work with their parents and contribute to the family income, while only having received a minor education.

One of the teachers asked us if we would like some tea, and we gladly accepted the offer. They also made us some hoppers, a typical Sri Lankan dish. First, we had to wash our hands in a bucket because there were no working taps available at the school. There is also no canteen for the students or teachers. We sat down with the principal and all eight teachers of the school and had a conversation with them about the obstacles they face while providing children with primary education. Apart from the dilapidated building, the teachers also explained the difficult home situations that the students grow up in. Some of the children are faced with an addicted parent, parents that are divorced, abusive parents or have a single-parent home in which the parent needs to work all day. The teachers educate the children with a lot of love from their hearts and take care of them like their own.

The last thing that the principal mentioned was the necessity of having a school computer, so the principal can use it for administration and children could get computer lessons. The school is a government school but they don’t look after it like they should. We were welcomed with open arms, treated very kindly, had some tea and said our goodbyes. Then we continued to do more research.

On the way, we passed an Islamic school. This school was well maintained. We had a short conversation with a teacher, but the school didn’t require any support, as they already received numerous donations from the Islamic community in the area. 

The last school we visited was located in a more mountainous area. The school is called ‘G/Niyagama Vidyadara. Again, the principal wasn’t present, however, there was a coordinator who greeted us. He told us that he runs the place whilst the principal is absent, but actually, he handles most of the operations, even when the principal is present. He was a very kind man and spoke great English. He often provides the children with breakfast. The primary school is an estate school, so the school is meant to educate the children from parents who work as tea pluckers, field workers or labourers at the estate. They receive the lowest income in Sri Lanka and are often labour immigrants. Some parents also lost their jobs due to the current economic crisis.  

The school provides primary education to twelve children. There are five grades taught, by a total of six teachers, one for every grade and an English teacher. The children attend this school because it’s the closest to their home, but the road to their school is still inaccessible. This results in a lengthy journey for both parents and students to travel to school by foot. Most of the children don’t have shoes to walk in and the parents have to leave early to arrive on time at work. At noon, whilst we visited the school, there were only three children present. The rain had flooded a couple of roads which led to this small attendance. It is also common that these children quit school after the fifth grade because they need to work and contribute to the family income or take care of their younger siblings. The parents are not able to pay for their child’s tuition to continue school after the fifth grade. Some parents even say that they are Christian even when they aren’t. Just so they can get food that is sometimes donated by the church. It is clear that these families are forced to survive in these difficult circumstances.

The school is an estate school, owned by the government. As well as the second school, it’s not looked after. The last thing that was indicated by the principal is that the school doesn’t have a phone, computer or radio. When there is an emergency, there is no way to contact parents or emergency services for help.

With all these problems combined, the teachers hold a lot of responsibility for the children. It is a heavy burden to carry when you don’t have the equipment to make it a little easier. After having seen the schools and having heard the stories of the principal and teachers, we are considering helping the two schools that most need it. As you can read in the first part of the report, All Saints College was well equipped, but only the children whose parents can afford it can attend these kinds of schools. We wanted to find people who can’t continue to go to school, or can’t receive education in the right circumstances. We want to help children and continue to improve the way we can support them. This is why our ‘Sponsor A Child’ project will be reconstructed into a project that will support the children and their communities in a more suitable way.