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Parents, teachers, MPs tear apart uniform voucher system
View(s):The distribution of vouchers to buy school uniforms instead of giving schoolchildren material got off to a shaky start with some of the children not receiving the vouchers. Parents who were told to accompany children of smaller grades to collect the vouchers had to wait for hours while some of them were told to come another day as the documents were not ready.
The Government decided to issue vouchers in a bid to cut down the cost of the programme. However, teachers complain that they have been burdened with additional work because of the new system which was hurriedly introduced.“We didn’t have enough time to distribute the vouchers because we were busy with yearend work,” a teacher from Kurunegala said. Several opposition legislators also yesterday criticised the voucher system saying it was placing an unnecessary burden on school staff and inconveniencing parents and students.
Both the JVP and several UPFA MPs said that despite assurances that the vouchers would be given before schools closed for the year on Friday, many students did not get the voucher while others had to wait long hours to obtain it. JVP MP Bimal Ratnayaka said the voucher system was complicated and would also be a burden on parents who would be required to visit different shops to obtain the material. He said several parents had complained that they were made to wait several hours to obtain the vouchers while others were told to come on Thursday and Friday to get them.
UPFA Gampaha district Parliamentarian Prasanna Ranaweera too was critical of the new system and said his child who studied at a national school in the area did not receive the voucher even after a long wait. Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariawasam defended the decision to introduce the voucher system saying many irregularities had taken place under the previous scheme.
“There were many irregularities with substandard as well as inadequate material being given to the students,” he said.