Students, schools in Vanni disregarded
[TamilNet, Friday, 11 June 2010, 04:23 GMT]
The teachers and heads of schools which have begun to function in Vanni where people have been allowed to resettle are facing insurmountable difficulties as most of the school buildings and furniture have been destructed in the war on Vanni, education circles in Vanni complain. While the government does not provide even the basic facilities the humanitarian organizations in the North, both local and international, disregard the education sector in Vanni preferring to work in Jaffna and Vavuniyaa, they said. International humanitarian organizations including UNICEF and Swiss Development Corporation spend their funds in Jaffna and Vauniyaa on various projects while the students and schools in Vanni suffer even without the basic facilities, they added.
Part of the problem is due to the government reluctance to allow local and international organizations into Vanni while the education authorities are blamed for not approaching the said organizations for help.
Though the teachers and heads of schools are willing to develop education in the war torn Vanni they have to face difficulties such as lack of school buildings, furniture, living quarters for the teachers and the poverty prevailing among the parents who have to start their lives from scratch.
The students in these war destructed schools have to sit under trees on the ground as the teachers manage without blackboards and teaching materials.
Meanwhile, UNICEF is constructing several Children's Park in Jaffna and Vavuniyaa while Swiss Development Corporation is building a school in Ma'ravanpulavu in Jaffna district at a cost of 18 million rupees where people have not resettled due to insecurity, a teacher in Vanni said.
It is alleged that the officials of the international organizations prefer to work in areas where their organizations are stationed.