Trousers and robes in tussle over sari

Monday 7th November, 2022

Teachers’ trade unions and the government have locked horns over a non-issue. The former has urged the latter to respect female teachers’ right to choose what to wear during school hours. The government has refused to consider their demand, and the male trade union leaders have seen red. Interestingly, lady teachers do not seem to have evinced any interest in the matter! They have other issues to contend with. Life has become a struggle for most Sri Lankan mothers, who bear the brunt to the economic crisis. They are worried about the future of their precious ones more than anything else.

The education sector is beset with a plethora of problems. Many schools experience a severe shortage of teachers, and classes are held in tumbledown buildings for want of resources. Most underprivileged schools are even without sanitary facilities. Students in rural schools are denied equitable access to science education, which is in great demand and available only in urban and some suburban areas. The number of students who faint due to hunger in schools is on the rise. There are many other issues that warrant the attention of the government and teachers’ trade unions. But they are quarrelling over what female teachers should or should not wear while on duty!

All students are dependent on supplementary education or private tuition, which is thriving. Shadow education has become a lucrative business. Huge expenditure parents have to incur on private tuition has made a mockery of ‘free’ education. Have the teachers’ trade unions addressed this issue? Time was when government teachers were considerate enough to conduct after-school classes, free of charge, for the benefit of weak students. The rise of private tutoring has been mainly due to deficiencies in the public school system, and teachers are mostly responsible for them. How do the teachers’ trade unions propose to sort out public school education? They take to the streets at the drop of a hat, and launch strikes to win their demands. Will they care to ensure that their members carry out their duties and functions properly?

Male trade union bosses have flayed the Maha Sangha for having criticised their proposal that female teachers be allowed to wear work dresses other than the sari. Buddhist monks’ right to make interventions over issues concerning education and culture cannot be questioned. The same goes for other religious leaders as well as laypersons of all faiths. The Buddhist clergy should be able to express their views on the teachers’ dress issue. But before being critical of laypersons, shouldn’t the Maha Sangha make a serious effort to rein in the young monks who bring the Sasansa into disrepute? Some pugnacious monks clash with the police during protests and their aggression is antithetical to the tenets of Buddhism. There is hardly any protest where Buddhist monks are not present. Most of all, it was a huge mistake for the Maha Nayake Theras to allow Bhikkus to take to active politics and even enter Parliament. These political Bhikkus have inflicted irreparable damage on the Buddha Sasana; they have desecrated the sacred saffron robe by sitting among rogues in Parliament. So, the Buddhist monks, we believe, should turn the search light inwards before lashing out at others over instances of indiscipline and ‘inappropriate attire’.

Education Minister Susil Premajayantha has vowed not to allow the female teachers’ dress code to be changed. He has said the sari has become de rigueur and it should remain so. He pretends to be a knight in shining armour on a mission to save education! Unsolved issues abound in the education sector, and the minister should try hard to sort them out. There is a pressing need for reforms to straighten up the education system, and develop the underprivileged schools, some of which have already been closed down.

A UNESCO report has pointed out that ‘non-state actors in South Asia are more involved in every aspect of education systems than in any other world region …. highly competitive examination pressures and dissatisfaction with public schools led to the highest levels of enrolment in private institutions in primary and secondary education than in other regions, but also to extensive private tutoring and an explosion of education technology companies’. These are the challenges that the government of Sri Lanka, teachers, the trade unions in the education sector, and other stakeholders ought to focus attention on.

Let the Education Minister and teachers’ trade unions be urged to stop tilting at windmills and concentrate on the real issues and challenges that the education system is facing.