The good and the bad of early to school

By Dhananjani Silva

On April 14, Sri Lanka standard time was adjusted to counter the time change effected in 1996. And when schools reopened last Monday, new school hours were in effect: from 7.30 a.m. to 1.30. p.m.

Parents and school van owners however had mixed reactions to the new times.

“My son who travels in a private school van used to leave home at 6 a.m before the time was changed. But now, with the new adjustment, he will have to leave home half an hour early and this means he will have to get up very early in the morning,” laments Nandani (name changed) whose son is a Grade 2 student at Rahula Maha Vidyalaya Matara.

She says that since they are staying in Ahangama, her son has to travel about 14-15 miles to get to the school. The change would cause much inconvenience for those who travel a long distance. “The children are still small, so when they get up very early in the morning, they might feel tired to do their work in school,” she added.

Nishani (name changed) says that her daughter who is a Grade 6 student of Good Shepherd Convent Kotahena travels daily from Ragama in a private school bus. “But now she has to get up early in the morning and get ready to be picked up by 6 a.m. On the other hand, when she comes home half an hour early in the afternoon there are so many other advantages as they can have early lunch and even have a nap before they go for classes,” she said.

Meanwhile some of the private school van owners, including those who come to Colombo schools from far away places including Avissawella, Negombo, Panadura and Gampaha, hailed the early school hours saying that the new arrangements make things ‘easy’ for them.

“There is less traffic in the morning because both school and office hours do not clash now,” they said.

A principal of a leading girls’ school in Colombo was of the view that this arrangement is an incentive to make the future generation more energetic. “It will take sometime for the children to get used to the new time, but once they adjust they too will realize the value of it,” she said.