A special programme will be introduced for parents urging them to pay more attention to their children, thereby protecting them from various forms of harassment and child abuse, President Maithripala Sirisena said.
The President was speaking at the centenary celebration meeting of Fathima Muslim Ladies’ College, Colombo at the Nelum Pokuna Theatre yesterday.
President Sirisena added that it is the duty of parents to take measures to protect children from falling victim to various forms of dangers.
“Under this move, the Government has decided to conduct awareness programmes for parents,” the President noted.
The President said, it is reported that a number of Grade Five students, who fail at the Grade Five Scholarship Examinations are harassed by their parents. That is because some parents are unaware of what the Grade Five Scholarship Examination is really all about.
“I firmly believe that the Grade Five Scholarship Examination is not the turning point of a student’s academic career,” President Sirisena noted.
The President further said that students should qualify not only by overcoming various academic barriers and passing examinations, but should also achieve success in the journey of life.
“One of the prime objectives of the Government is to provide maximum educational benefits to students,” President Sirisena said. The President said that measures will be taken to offer a plot of land belonging to the Urban Development Authority to Fathima College for the school’s further expansion.
President Sirisena said large budgetary allocations for education and health should be considered as an investment. Millions of Rupees is invested annually to develop health and education facilities.
The President said education is not merely gaining qualifications but inculcating citizens with human values for the benefit of the country.
President Sirisena said students have to use modern technology as part of their progress.The President requested students to make the best out of modern technology in a productive manner.
“Facebook and some other forms of social media have become a hindrance to ethnic harmony,”the President said.
“We temporary banned Facebook with the recent incidents in the Kandy district. The decision was highly condemned by a few. But most of the people in society including parents and elders highly appreciated that decision saying that it was a timely and valuable one required to protect the country’s good name,” he said.
President Sirisena said several foreign organisations,which work on monitoring and evaluating social media and websites have praised the Government’s decision to protect ethnic harmony.
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