Four Bicycles, Four Students, and the Fight for Fair Education
A while ago, I shared the story of the smallest school closing down in Polonnaruwa—Rohana School in Sorivila, which only had four students.
This school was located next to the Sorivila Tamil School. When the government’s school meal program was suspended, we provided meals to both schools, even setting up a system where food was cooked in one and shared with the other.
However, when the principal of Rohana School retired, the school, unfortunately, closed its doors.
The four children, who were accustomed to Sinhala-medium education, were reluctant to switch to Tamil medium. As a result, they began to commute several kilometers away to Kashyapa School in Dimbulagala.
Sorivila is a severely underprivileged village. So, we decided to step in and help those four students make the daily journey to Kashyapa School by providing them with four bicycles.
Usually, once we start a project, it doesn’t take long to complete. But with the recent hectic schedule, the bicycle project got a little delayed.
Finally, with the help and support of all of you, we were able to deliver the four bicycles to the school for those four young students.
The effort was coordinated by Mr. Vijendran, the Principal of the Sorivila Tamil School. The bicycles were transported from Colombo to Kaduruwela, and then to Sorivila last week.
This week, these four bicycles will be used daily by the students to ride from Sorivila to Dimbulagala for school.
The picture you see here was taken with them when they were studying at Rohana, right before it closed.
If you ever wonder about the fairness of Sri Lanka’s education system, the picture of an entire school with just four students is perhaps enough to understand the situation.
This is 2024. Back in 1985, when my mother enrolled me in Grade 1, many schools in the Anuradhapura district were in a much better condition than some of the schools enrolling Grade 1 students today in 2024. We are talking about the evolution of our education system from recent memory until now.
Helping a child learn means more than just building a school, constructing a road to it, providing a bus for the route, assigning a teacher once they arrive, ensuring that teacher has transport, providing textbooks, exercise books, a blackboard, chalk, and a whole lot more.
Our struggle is for a fair, if not equal, education for every child.
While it may not be practical to keep a school open for just four children, I strongly believe that before closing it, the necessary facilities must be provided for those four children to attend the next closest school.
I thank all of you who helped make a difference for these children while the system struggles to catch up—for the sake of a full stomach and a full mind.
By: Dr. Kiloshini Hendawitharana
