Tamil child denied opportunity to attempt grade 5 scholarship exam

The educational future of a war-affected child hangs in a balance after he was denied the opportunity to appear in the grade 5 scholarship exam by the principal of his school as alleged by his mother.

The mother Janani Mahendran alleged the principal of the school in Vanni refused the student to participate in the scholarship exam since the grade 5 student could not attend school for two months due to health reasons.

A complaint has been made against the principal now.

In her complaint to the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, the mother of the child has said the teachers who denied him the opportunity of appearing in the scholarship exam saying appearing in the exam is not important as he has undergone a surgery.

The boy was a student at the Vigneswara Vidhyalaya in Kombavil, Puthukudiyiruppu in the Mullaitivu education zone.

“Due to a surgery in the stomach, he could not go to school. However, since the scholarship exam was on the 15th of October, the child started going to the school from the first week” the mother said.

However, she was shocked when she went to school to get the roll number which told her they couldn’t offer him the opportunity to write the exam.

Speaking to local journalists, the mother said the school administration took a letter from her saying her child would be unable to take the exam.

“When we went there and inquired with the principal, and were told that he could not write the exam as he had got less than 70 marks. Then we left it as such believing they would call us back, but the call never came. We had even stitched the uniforms and were ready.

Then after a week when we took him to the school, Sivanathan teacher beat him and said he would not allow him to write the exam. The principal was a mute witness”.

Janani Mahendran alleged the school also forcibly took a letter from her saying her son won’t be able to write the exam and said his attendance was also poor.

“The school said there is no use in him for writing the exam. Scholarship exam is not important”.

Local journalists say if for some reason if the child did not qualify then it would be a humiliation for the school and the principal would have acted thinking as such.