Principals should take necessary action as soon as such incidents are reported.
Prime Minister and the Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, Dr. Harini Amarasuriya states that there is an increase in violence faced by children in schools, that violence against school children should not be allowed to occur, and that principals should take necessary immediate action as soon as such incidents are reported.
The Prime Minister emphasized this at a programme held at the Ministry of Education on 27.05.2025 to inform principals in the Colombo District on this matter.
Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya pointed out that children are a fundamental responsibility of a Government and that Sri Lanka, by signing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, is committed to protecting children’s rights and working for their best interests. Therefore, the responsibility of safeguarding child rights falls on the Government as well as all Government officials in charge of the school system.
The Premier claimed that “the recent reports on harassments against school children are considered, there has been an increase in the number of such incidents in the school system. Just as their home the school should be made a conducive environment for the child to grow and learn. Parents send their children to school with the trust and confidence that their children would be protected and guided in the correct way by the school teachers including the principal. Therefore, the school should not be made an unsafe place for the child at all”.
The Prime Minister, who emphasized that any form of violence against children should not continue in the school system, and that whether a child faces physical abuse, sexual abuse, other forms of neglect, or psychological abuse in school, it should not be hidden or ignored, pointed out that it is not a matter that should be hidden or ignored, but that the principal, as the main authority of the school, should act in this regard immediately.
She pointed out that if such actions are ignored, it will lead to the failure of the entire school system, and therefore, in such cases, it is necessary to act very quickly and responsibly. “Whenever there is a delay in responding to child abuse, the child who has been exposed to it suffers irreversible physical and mental harm, and therefore, timely intervention can save a life, protect self-respect and ensure justice” the Premier explained.
Pointing out that it is very important for teachers and other officials in the education sector to be aware of the knowledge and strategies needed to identify, prevent and report all forms of violence against children, the Prime Minister said that those who are constantly in contact with children should be aware of child rights and legal protection measures, and that it is also very important to have studied child psychology, which helps in understanding the child’s mind and dealing with children correctly.
Dr. Amarasuriya demanded that it is very important for officials working in the education sector to be trained to recognize the distress in children, to understand how the trauma in children affects their learning, and to respond to children with closeness, compassion and care, and to put that knowledge into practice when necessary. The Prime Minister further said that the government’s policy statement, "A thriving Nation - A Beautiful Life", has paid great attention to child protection, and that its primary objective is to protect children from abuse and all forms of violence against them.
School principals and Government officials including the Judge L.T. B. Dehideniya, Chairman of Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission Nimal G. Punchihewa, Commissioner Professor T. Thanaraj and Western Provincial Secretary of Education Nishanthi Jayasinghe were present on this occasion.
Prime Minister’s Media Division