Army urges parents to send children to school

Tuesday, 21 May 2019 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Army Commander Lt, Gen. Mahesh Senanayake yesterday requested parents to send their children to schools without fearing any unconfirmed statements or messages, as the Security Forces have ensured their security.

“At this juncture, I emphasise that since members of the Armed Forces and the Police on priority basis have taken all necessary steps to ensure security arrangements for all schools, parents should now send their children to schools without resorting to irrational fears as such,” he said in a statement issued yesterday.

Since the coordinated suicide attacks on Easter Sunday, school attendance dropped drastically, amidst the repeated assurances given by the Ministry of Education after reopening of schools for their second term.

Not only State-run schools, but international schools also saw a significant reduction in student attendance.

Following the unfortunate terrorist attack and its impact on 21 April 2019, normalcy and day-to-day life of the society was badly crippled. As a result, the attendance of State and private sector employees who contribute to the country›s development declined and normalcy was disrupted.

“The Police and the Armed Forces with dedicated commitment provided security to all the places to ensure security and normalcy in the country,” Lt. Gen. Senanayake said.

He said as a result of intensified security measures taken by the Armed Forces and the Police to conduct search operations and destroy terrorist elements, following the directions of President Maithripala Sirisena, a satisfactory level of attendance of employees in the private and State sectors has been reported in the past few days.

“Irrespective of all security measures in place for students to attend schools when the schools were reopened for their second term, many parents, trusting unconfirmed stories, various rumours and gossip were reluctant to send in their beloved children to schools,” he stated.

The Army Chief said that although several violent acts from some areas were reported after the terrorist attack, members of the Armed Forces and the Police had been able to apprehend many of them and bring them to justice after bringing those violent acts under control.

“The Army as the ‘Rata Rakina Jaathiya’ assures you that all precautionary security measures for protection of all citizens and property of this country have been now put in place as a force always on vigil, and requests from parents again to let all students, who are the strength of our future generation, to resume their school attendance without any fear or suspicion, as their security has now been prioritised,” he said, urging all people in the country to cooperate with the armed forces to carry out their security duties effectively.