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SRI LANKA: Five girls assaulted and ill-treated by teachers due to principal's negligence

September 18, 2008

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-213-2008

19 September 2008
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SRI LANKA: Five girls assaulted and ill-treated by teachers due to principal's negligence

ISSUES: Right to education; child rights; ill treatment
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that while five students were being assaulted and ill- treated by teachers, the principal failed to intervene in the situation. He asked the father of one of the students to forget the incident. As a result, the students are afraid to return to school, due to the degrading treatment received from their teachers. This will be a great detriment to their future lives and careers.

CASE DETAILS:

Sri Kanthulage Harsha Udayangani, Pallikondage Lakmini Chndrani Perera, Jayathungage Nimesha Dilki Chathurangi, Jayani Gamage, Sashi Praba Sandeepani are Grade 13 arts students (girls) of the Bandaragama National School.

On 9 September, 2008 during the morning hours of school, Rev. Polgahawela Somarathana, teacher, demanded to know from his class who had attended the tuition class conducted by one Sannasgala. He then shouted at the next class where teacher -Rev. Parasthota Lakkana was teaching, demanding that he too ask, if there were any students who had attended Sannasgala's Sinhala tuition class.

At around 1pm another teacher Rev. Mukuruppe Somalankara demanded that those students who had attended Sannasgala's tuition class step out. Accordingly 5 girls stepped out. Rev. Polgahawela Somarathana and Rev. Parasthota Lakkana were also present. Then, Rev. Polgahawela Somarathana scolded the 5 girls soundly using demeaning and degrading language for attending Sannasgala’s tuition class.  He threatened them and then demanded to know if they will attend Sanasgala's tuition class in the future.  All but one student said that they would have to ask their parents first. An angry Rev. Polgahawela Somarathana then demanded that they bring their parents to school on the following day. 

The girls were afraid to go to school on the next day but returned on September 11.  About 9.30,during the 3rd school,period Rev. Mukuruppe Somalankara asked the girls to bring their bags and come out of the classroom. Then he started to cane the girls on their hands asking why their parents had not come. He scolded the girls using the basest language and told them to leave the school. After that he told them to put their bags over their shoulders and kneel near the science laboratory, in the hot sun, until1:30pm. The girls did so, but could not stay the full 4 hours until 1.30 pm as they began feeling sick.  Rev.Somalankara was duly informed by the girls.

As a result of the caning Harsha Udayangani's hands cracked and started to bleed. However, Rev. Mukuruppe Somalankara and other teachers who saw this laughed and joked about it.

The girls sent messages to their parents to come to school. When the father of Harsha Udayangani   who's hand was bleeding met Rev. Mukuruppe Somalankara, the latter merely smiled and said sarcastically that he had only tapped the girls hands. Then, Harsha Udayangani's father met the Principal Ranjith Premasiri who did not take the situation seriously merely stating that "think it was me who hit your daughter and forget the matter". Because of the Principal’s statement, Harsha's father did not lodge a complaint at the police station or take his daughter to the hospital.
 
On September 12, when the girls went back to school, they heard another female teacher loudly and maliciously asking Rev. Parasthota Lakkana why the girls were allowed to come back to school. This was said with the purpose of being overheard by the girls. After that the girls did not go back to school for fear of repercussions.

On September 18, the girls and their parents sent complaints to several relevant authorities together with a plea for justice.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

No teacher or Principal of a school has the right to keep a student from attending school. In this case the incident was provoked because the girls attended a tuition class with another teacher.

The girls are studying in a Grade 13 exam class. They will be sitting for their Advanced Level’s, the highest school certificate examination in Sri Lanka. The exam for this class will be held in August 2009.  A breach in their studies at this juncture will be detrimental both to their school careers and their futures. It is very important that this situation is immediately looked into and sorted out.

ADDITIONAL COMMENT:

Article 28 of the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC) to which Sri Lanka is a state party says,
"States Parties [should] recognize the right of the child to education, and with a view to achieving this right progressively and on the basis of equal opportunity".

Article 27(2) (h) of the Sri Lankan Constitution states an objective of the state is "the complete eradication of illiteracy and the assurance to all persons of the right to universal and equal access to education at all levels." Article 27(5) also states, "the State shall strengthen national unity by promoting co-operation and mutual confidence among all sections of the People of Sri Lanka, including the racial, religious, linguistic and other groups, and shall, take effective steps in the fields of teaching, education and information in order to eliminate prejudice."

In addition, there are other laws regarding corporal punishment.

Article 37(a) of the CRC says the child is protected from all forms of discrimination or punishment. It also says that the child is protected against all forms of discrimination or punishment on the basis of status [Article 2(2)], and Sri Lanka as a state party should take all appropriate measures to promote physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration of a child victim [Article 39].

Furthermore, article 11 of the Sri Lankan Constitution also points out that everyone has the right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Section 308 A of the Sri Lankan Penal Code (amendment) also states that cruelty against children causing hurt, grievous or simple as well as torture, is a criminal offence. Moreover, the Circular No. ED/01/12/01/04/24, issued by the Education Department on 11 May 2005 to all local schools, regulates corporal punishment and assault of school children in Sri Lanka.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the relevant authorities listed below and request them to take immediate and appropriate action to restore the right to education of these students. Please also urge them to investigate this case so that the practice of corporal punishment is prohibited as written in the law.

Please be informed that the AHRC has also written a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on the right of education calling for an investigation in this case.

To support this appeal, please click here:

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear __________,

SRI LANKA: Five girls assaulted and ill treated by teachers due to principal's negligence

Name of victims:
1. Sri Kanthulage Harsha Udayangani
2. Pallikondage Lakmini Chndrani Perera
3. Jayathungage Nimesha Dilki Chathurangi
4. Jayani Gamage
5. Sashi Praba Sandeepani
(All are all Grade 13 Arts female students of the Bandaragama National School)
Name of alleged perpetrators:
1. Rev. Mukuruppe Somalankara
2. Rev. Polgahawela Somarathana
3. Rev. Parasthota Lakkana
4. Principal Ranjith Premasiri
(All are all teachers and the Principal of the Bandaragama National School)
Date of incident: September 9, 11 and 12, 2008
Place of incident: Bandaragama National School

I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding corporal punishment and continued ill- treatment by teachers against five female students in the Bandaragama National School since September 9, 2008.

According to the information that I have received, three teachers caned the five female students causing one student's hand to bleed. The reason for this punishment is that they attended a tuition class of their own choice. In front of the other school children they continued to be ill-treated by being scolded in a demeaning and degrading manner.

Even though the Principal of the school has a responsibility to stop such corporal punishment according to  Circular No. ED/01/12/01/04/24, he did not, he simply ignored it.  He even suggested to one of the students' fathers that he forget it. He himself did not intervene in this incident and allowed other teachers to ill- treat the girls without any intervention on his part. Finally, the children were told to leave the school and they are now afraid to return.

I am aware that article 11 of the Sri Lankan Constitution says that everyone has the right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and its Penal Code, Section 308 A clearly stipulates that cruelty against children causing hurt, grievous or simple as well as torture, is a criminal offence. Furthermore, based on the UN Convention on the rights of the child to which Sri Lankan is a state party, Sri Lanka shall take all appropriate measures to promote physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration of the child victim.

In light of the above, I urge you to investigate this case so that those responsible for corporal punishment and ill -treatment against the students are punished according to the law. I further urge that the right to an education by the students, who are in a crucial examination class, be protected and guaranteed. Anything detrimental to their school careers and future lives should be eliminated. I finally urge you to investigate the negligent lack of action on the part of the principal who allowed other teachers to ill-treat children under their care. This kind of practice should not reoccur in the school.

I believe that you will take proper action in this matter.

Yours sincerely,

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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Secretary
Education Department
Isurupaya
Battaramulla
SRI LANKA
E-mail: isurupaya@moe.gov.lk 

2. Director Education
National Schools
Ministry of Education
Battaramulla
SRI LANKA

3. Chairperson
National Child Protection Authority
330, Thalawathgoda Road
Madiwella
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 778975
Tel: +94 11 2 778912/13/14
E-mail: ncpa@childprotection.gov.lk  

4. Chairperson
OIC Women and Children's Bureau
25, Yst Building Srimath Baronthilake Mawatha
Colombo 01
SRI LANKA

5. Secretary
Human Rights Commission
No. 36, Kynsey Road
Colombo 8
SRI LANKA
Tel: +94 11 2 694 925 / 673 806
Fax: +94 11 2 694 924 / 696 470
E-mail: sechrc@sltnet.lk

6. Head of Child Protection
UNICEF Sri Lanka
P.O. Box 143, Colombo
SRI LANKA
Tel: +94 11 2 555 270 (6 lines)
Fax: +94 11 2 551 333
E-mail: colombo@unicef.org 

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrchk.org) 

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
AHRC-UAC-213-2008
Countries :
Issues :
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.