Past pupils hoping for fair trial today

By Chamindra Wickremasinghe
The Past Pupils Associations are anticipating a fair trial when their fundamental rights applications against the new circular on Grade 1 admissions are taken up by the Supreme Court today.

Convener, Joint Committee of the Past Pupils Associations, Dr. Anura Rabel stated that the attention of the Past Pupils Associations had been drawn towards the absence of the maintenance of the religious ratio in the schools that were taken over by the government in 1961, as assured by then Prime Minister Sirima Bandaranaike.
“This will lead to a situation where the religious identity will be disturbed in Buddhist, Hindu, Catholic, Christian and Muslim schools coming under the category of religious schools,” Dr. Rabel said.

There has been no limitation of areas for the applicants under the past pupils’ category. He pointed out, nevertheless, according to the new circular, even the past pupils have to apply under the relevant provincial council limits and the maximum marks for past pupils’ contribution to the school being limited to 18 marks was considered a gross injustice against past pupils.

“These rules are unjust in the case of the past pupils who joined major national schools from outstation schools, having passed the Grade 5 scholarship,” Dr. Rabel.
The Joint Committee was also critical of the clause that stated the service personnel and police officers serving in the operational areas have been limited to local government areas and charged that the allocation of only 10 marks for their category was unreasonable.