Minorities find admission to Grade One difficult

by Dr. A.C. Viswalingam

(December 06, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Parents in minority groups cannot even begin to dream of the day that one of their children could, like Obama, be elected to the highest office in the land. We therefore, most earnestly request the Mahanayakes to give the nation a historic new direction to secure equal treatment for all of Sri Lanka’s citizens.

In Sri Lanka the minorities find it very difficult even to get their children selected to decent schools. So where is the equal treatment?

However much the minister of education speaks about admission to grade one, the reality is different. In Galle the parents of the minority groups, particular the Muslims of Galle Fort, though they live within the two mile radius cannot even begin to dream that one of their children like the others, will be selected to the school of their choice (St. Aloysius College, Galle), because not all the citizens secure equal rights — there are restrictions on minority placements and the number is limited. They have to struggle very hard and face appeals if they are to be lucky enough to get a place.

Galle is a highly Muslim populated area. So the schools have to expect a big intake of Muslims.

It should not be forgotten that at one time Galle had both its mayor and deputy mayor at the same time from the Muslim community. So anyone can understand how many Muslims live there. Therefore restricting the number of admissions to leading schools is very unfair. - Sri Lanka Guardian