The Sri Lanka College of Paediatricians (SLCP) has offered to join hands with the Ministry of Education and the government to overcome the challenges in the education sector amidst the ongoing political-economic-social crisis. The outfit declared a tangible action plan was required to address the issues at hand.

The following is the text of the statement issued by SLCP President Prof. Guwani Liyanage: “Sri Lanka as a country has always been held in the highest esteem due to its high literacy indices in comparison to other countries in the region. However, the past three years have been a challenge to all sectors and especially so for education of children and young people.

The COVID-19 outbreak had brought fear, anxiety, and above all maximal stress worldwide. Institution of health safety measures and lockdowns, which were a novelty to us all, made physical contact an impossible task except in dire circumstances related to health. The schools were closed initially and with the use of current technology, online teaching commenced, based on the available facilities of each region. According to a study, most of the children had received some level of education, even though quite understandably, children of lower and middle-income families have had to utilise the facilities only within their reach, as a substitute for face-to-face teaching. The usage of social media like WhatsApp to deliver education material had been successful to a certain extent. Two major examinations like GCE O/L and GCE A/L were held, albeit following a delay in proportion to the challenging circumstances.

As the country was about to see some light at the end of the tunnel in terms of COVID-19, and with the schools reopening and adapting to the new normal, a new challenge emerged for our country with the worst economic crisis ever to be faced in the post-independence era. With the scarcity of fuel, transport has become the worst affected, with both the teachers and children facing difficulties in attending school. Further to this, the schools were closed on several occasions due to a lack of modes to commute for school attendees, adding to the unfortunate woes that were seen as sequelae of the pandemic.

Online education, the silver lining of the gloomy cloud of the COVID-19 pandemic, has the potential to be the solution until the country overcomes this challenging series of adversities. Undoubtedly, online education has its disadvantages, but given the limited number and modes of the substitutes available to provide uninterrupted education, online education may serve the purpose. Proper guidance and supervision with organisational support will avoid unwanted missed days of school.

Strategic planning to continue education uninterruptedly will be the best investment the country can make for centuries. Most of the teachers including those even in the most rural sectors are quite conversant with the online learning platforms and hence supporting this good cause would be a less tedious course. The policymakers would appreciate the pros and cons of each type of education at different institutions, as more transport issues are likely to prevail in urban communities, where technology is likely to be at its best when compared to rural communities. Hence, tailor-made methods for each should provide sustainable delivery of education to our children, the future jewels of our nation.

We, at the Sri Lanka College of Paediatricians, are willing to join hands with the Ministry of Education and the government in this tedious task to overcome the challenges likely to be faced in delivering this educational service which will affect several generations to come. As the premier professional academic organisation concerned with child healthcare, representing academics and clinicians responsible for the health of the future generations, we believe that we truly need to initiate and support the uninterrupted delivery of education to the children of our land. While appreciating the hard work done by the teachers in attending to this tremendously challenging task, we would like to reemphasise the importance of their role in this endeavour. We do pledge to support very strongly, all efforts that would be made by the relevant authorities in the required initiatives.

We should all join hands and stand together to mitigate this worst social dilemma that has engulfed us as the material scarcities may only cause wounds that heal, but the adversities faced by our children are most likely to leave scars for a lifetime to come.”