Attention has been directed to the possibility of schools using physical resources to uplift the country’s economy through food production and electricity generation.
The Sub Committee on Identifying the Short & Medium-Term Programmes related to Economic Stabilization of the National Council convened under the Chairman MP Patali Champika Ranawaka recently (28).
A discussion was held with school principals and representatives of teachers, representatives of the Ministry of Education and the Treasury when called before this sub-committee to look into the concerns regarding nutrition and transportation of school children as well as the possibility of using schools for economic development.
The sub-committee recommended the Education Ministry to carry out a survey of the land owned by schools across the island, excluding buildings, as there is a possibility of growing crops on empty land owned by schools.
Furthermore, MP Ranawaka said electricity can be produced by installing solar panels on school buildings, and accordingly, and proposed an energy manager to be appointed to manage electricity consumption in schools effectively.
It was discussed that the programme of providing food to school students can be successfully implemented as a cooperative programme involving schools and the relevant community.
The chairman of the committee also said by preparing a more effective and transparent mechanism, a project to provide food to school students can even get the support of Sri Lankans abroad.
Furthermore, the committee also drew attention to the transportation difficulties faced by students and teachers.
It was also discussed that the Sri Lanka Transport Board and private bus owners provide school transport services, but due to restrictions on the import of buses and spare parts, they have not been able to deploy sufficient buses.
The committee also drew attention to the issues faced by students as the price of school stationery such as paper including exercise books has risen.
The chairman of the committee also asked Ministry officials to look into the possibility of providing stationery including exercise books to schools at a concessionary rate through the Sri Lanka Printing Corporation.
