Saturday 10th February, 2024

Former Minister Keheliya Rambukwella has become a huge embarrassment to not merely the government but the Central Provincial Council (CPC) as well. The SLPP-UNP government will disown him given half a chance. But there is no way it can throw him under the bus, for he will not go down alone in such an eventuality. Politicians who find themselves in inescapable situations and feel let down by their masters often resort to political kamikaze attacks. So, the government has a lot to worry about.

The CPC also finds itself in a dilemma thanks to Rambukwella. The Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) has demanded that the name of the Keheliya Rambukwella Primary School, in the Kandy District, be changed immediately because the eponym has been arrested and remanded over a corrupt pharmaceutical procurement deal. CTU General Secretary Joseph Stalin has urged the CPC Education Ministry to effect the name change forthwith. Teachers are likely to launch a protest campaign to ratchet up pressure on the CPC to grant their demand, which is sure to go down well with the public.

Rambukwella’s guilt or innocence should not be prejudged, and the task of trying him should be left entirely to the judiciary. But the CTU’s argument is valid; the education authorities must not pander to the whims and fancies of egoistic politicians when schools are named or renamed. There are many national heroes, whom schools and other state institutions can be dedicated to.

Seats of learning are sacred. Nothing must be permitted that diminishes their reputations and prestige. When a school, or a part of it, is named after controversial politicians or other such characters before or after their death, its sanctity suffers irreparable damage.

The practice of naming or renaming schools to please politicians must be discontinued immediately. Similarly, it behoves the Education Ministry to ensure that funds for school development do not come from those involved in corrupt practices, trades such as tobacco, liquor and gambling, and organisations with dubious backgrounds.

The CTU informs us that there is a circular preventing the dedication of schools to persons before their death, and the aforesaid school has been named after Rambukwella in violation of that directive. If so, action must be taken against those who violated that circular.

The CTU’s campaign to prevent politicians from gaining mileage at the expense of schools deserves public support. But the question is why the teachers’ unions waited so long to raise objections. Mahinda Rajapaksa had a school named after him while he was the President. Did the teachers’ trade unions protest?

Sadly, politicians misuse schools for propaganda purposes on the pretext of making donations. They harangue their captive audiences consisting mostly of students to gain propaganda mileage, and tender minds are polluted with divisive politics as a result. This practice must also end. Will the teachers’ unions take up this issue?

Going by the seemingly irreversible deterioration of Sri Lankan politics and parliamentary standards, and the shameful behaviour of most MPs, who obviously cannot read and understand ordinary Bills they vote for or against, let alone budget documents, and therefore make loud noises to cover up their ignorance, most politicians have missed even early childhood education. So, there is a pressing need for them to go back to school instead of having schools named after them.