News
Unsafe drinking water and poor sanitation plague most schools, say Principals
By Pradeep Prasanna Samarakkone and Chaminda Silva
Around 500 schools across the country lack access to safe drinking water for students, Piyasiri Fernando, Secretary of the Sri Lanka Principals’ Association, has said.
Fernando told The Island that a significant number of schools did not have facilities to store water properly. He said many schools lacked sanitary facilities.
Fernando also noted that in some schools in the Eastern, North Central, Uva, North Western, and Central provinces, as well as in approximately 20% of schools located near coastal areas, there are no proper toilet facilities. Despite the issuance of circulars specifying the number of toilets to be built, based on the number of students, some schools still did not have sanitary facilities as per those guidelines, the Secretary of the Principals’ Association said.
According to the School Census -2023 (2024) conducted by the Department of Census and Statistics there were 3,882,688 schoolchildren, 830,021 in National Schools and 3,052,667 in Provincial Schools.
Out of 10,096 schools, 1,506 have 1-50 students, 1,638 have 51-100 students and 2,128 have 101-200 students. Only 67 schools have 3,001-4,000 students, while only 33 have more than 4,000 students. 3,117 or 30.9 percent schools have fewer than 10 teachers.
US Ambassador, Julie Chung, visited the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) office on Friday (14) for discussions with party representatives.
Ambassador Chung arrived at the SLPP Headquarters around 10:00 a.m. and engaged in talks for over an hour and a half. Her visit followed a request by the SLPP to meet her.
During the meeting, she held discussions with SLPP General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam, former Members of Parliament Sanjeewa Edirimanne, C.B. Ratnayake, and Jayantha Ketagoda, as well as current MP D.V. Chanaka. Milinda Rajapaksha, an advisor to former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, was also present.
The visit comes amid calls from SLPP MP Namal Rajapaksa for an investigation into USAID fund recipients in Sri Lanka.
By Saman Indrajith
Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne informed Parliament on Friday (14) that he intended to take necessary action regarding requests made by MPs concerning allegations over USAID funding in Sri Lanka.
He made this statement in response to a question raised by Opposition MP Dayasiri Jayasekara, who sought a clarification on the matter.
Jayasekara noted that SLPP MP Namal Rajapaksa had sent a letter to the Speaker calling for the appointment of a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to investigate reports about unethical USAID funding in the country. He questioned whether such a committee would be formed and the matter formally examined.
In response, Speaker Wickramaratne confirmed that he was planning to take appropriate action on the issue.
By A.J.A. Abeynayake
Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s son, Yoshitha Rajapaksa, and his grandmother, Daisy Forest Wickramasinghe, were charged by the Attorney General on the 14th before the Colombo High Court.
The charges, filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, include three counts related to the purchase of properties, including plots of land in the Ratmalana Sirimal Uyana area and Dehiwala, using unexplained funds to the tune of Rs. 80 million during 2012-2013.
Yoshitha Rajapaksa was arrested by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) on 25 January in connection with the purchase of a 31.5-perch land in the Sirimal Uyana area for over Rs. 360 lakhs. He was presented before the Additional Magistrate that afternoon and remanded until 27 January, when Colombo Additional Magistrate Manjula Ratnayake ordered his release on strict bail conditions, including a travel ban.
Daisy Forest Wickramasinghe, who was named as a suspect in investigations related to the purchase of shares in the CSN channel, in which Yoshitha Rajapaksa held ownership, was also issued a travel ban by Kaduwela Magistrate Chanima Wijebandara on the 11th.
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