Browse – http://www.zonematara.com

I do not buy the argument that state spends more on regional schools on per capita basis. Even in case of national schools state spend some money in buildings etc. Of course I agree that the additional facilities like swimming pools and gyms were provided largely by old boys.

I agree with Anon completely when he says when you are under government you cannot do whatever you like. If these schools want to do whatever they like, the logical course of action would be to ask state to stop funding them.

‘The state expenditure per student in these schools are substantially less than that for a regional central school. ‘ – Again do you have numbers on this or a general rant? Cos for all I know, all the best performing teachers are deliberately put to these schools by the government. And if you run through the newspapers for the past year or two you will find what happens when attempts are made to change this. (But this will require some skills. Such as reading and comprehension.)

‘There’s no free education in Sri Lanka to start with. Almost every student attends private tuition classes.’ – You must be among the top philosophers of the century if not the millennium.

The point is that you cant be under government and do as you like. If they want to dance by their own rhyme, then they can become privatised. However this will never happen because a considerable number of best performers in these schools are in fact grade 5 scholarship holders (Not all of them and not a majority either, I cant grant you that.). Without them the schools would be nothing more than a few fall outs who haven’t even figured they fell off.

There’s no free education in Sri Lanka to start with. Almost every student attends private tuition classes.

Let us starts the things from the scratch.

The government boasts it gives ‘free education’. According to the government students do not even have to pay even a cent, all, including text books and uniforms are given FREE.

So if this claim is correct, the students and parents have every right to object any requests for money.

Those who pass Grade 5 scholarship goes to Colombo schools, because government guarantees ‘free education’.

Government cannot both eat the cake and have it.

If it wants to maintain its populist stand it has to stand up to its promise of free education.

Otherwise it should admit that it cannot provide ‘free education’ and ask students to pay. That will be much better than these indirect and unethical means it is using today.

I think these national schools should be administered by an independent body (as the Theosophist society did with Ananda, Visakha etc) and the politicians or bureaucrats should not be allowed to get involved at all. The school should have the final say on who gets admitted to grade one, and CJ’s blueprint is based on the unstandardised procedures and criteria used by the schools at present.

If these students (ungrateful scholarship holders I assume) can’t even pay a measly sum of 4000 rupees for their school’s development, why don’t they go back to their “gamey kanishte”? Why should they get a free ride on us when we spend so much time and money on our schools. Roll up your free education and stick it in your collective madya maha vidyala behinds. Who said you have a right for free education at our schools if you can’t pay your due?