Teachers, principals to be taught how to treat students

Minister of Education Dr. Susil Premajayantha stated that a special programme was launched to educate teachers and principals of all 144 schools in Colombo regarding their behaviour towards students when dealing with specific incidents that could occur in schools, with the said programme to be expanded to also include schools in the rest of the island in the future. 

Speaking in Parliament yesterday (8), he said: “The Education Ministry commenced a programme last week covering all 144 schools in Colombo. Under the programme, a three-day workshop was held with the participation of teachers of these schools on counselling and protecting children from the drug menace. In addition, another programme was held for principals and vice principals on how to understand students and behave towards them during certain incidents. These programmes will be implemented in other parts of the country as well.”

Noting that there is a specific definition of the child in the relevant legal provisions including the Penal Code, he said that certain adverse incidents concerning children are being reported on a daily basis. He also said that those who provide protection to children also commit wrongdoings on children and recalled the recent incident of a police officer firing at a group of children who were travelling in a three-wheeler in the Thihagoda area in Matara.

Meanwhile, the school principal and two police officers arrested in connection with an alleged child abuse incident in Millaniya, have been remanded till 16 November, after being produced before the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court.

The school teacher and a police constable driver who were also accused over the incident have been granted bail by the court, according to media reports

Commenting on the alleged assault of three Grade Five students of a school in the Millaniya area in Bandaragama by the principal and a teacher of the said school and a group of police officers last week in Parliament yesterday, Dr. Premajayantha said that the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) and a committee appointed by the Ministry are conducting separate investigations into the incident. 

He said: “This school is governed by the Western Provincial Council. Nearly 150 children study there. The Police had been informed of the loss of a teacher’s wallet, to which they responded by arriving at the school and taking these children away via the police jeep, bringing them back, and dropping them off. It was only afterwards that that the parents reported an assault. It has been reported that the children were not assaulted by the teachers, but by the Police.” 

Dr. Premajayantha added that the NCPA is currently carrying out an investigation into the incident, while the Education Ministry is carrying out a separate investigation on the instructions of Education Ministry Secretary M.N. Ranasinghe. He said that a question arises regarding whether the relevant school should have informed the Police of the incident in question as a circular has already been issued regarding how to act in such a situation. 

However, he said that he will not speak much about the incident, as an investigation is currently being carried out into the matter, and added that all the details will be available at the conclusion of the relevant investigation. 

An investigation into a complaint received by the NCPA last week revealed that at the request of the principal of the school in question, a team of police officers had allegedly assaulted three Grade Five students with batons and later taken them out of the school premises in a jeep to be given electric shocks on 2 November. NCPA Chairman Udaya Amarasinghe had told the media that the relevant Judicial Medical Officer who examined the children had confirmed that they had been brutally beaten and tortured.