'Pregnant' school girl: Noose hangs over school authorities

The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) has ruled that the fundamental rights of the girl who was accused of being pregnant and was ordered to be removed from school by the class teacher, school disciplinary board, teaching instructor and former principal of Sri Revatha Vidyalaya in Madatugama had been violated.

The HRCSL had directed the Director Education of the North Central Province to hold an inquiry against those involved in making this hasty decision to send the girl in question home and to send the report on its findings to the commission.

The HRCSL initiated the investigation after reading reports in the media of a school girl being asked to leave the school by the school authorities who thought that she was pregnant when she actually was vomiting as she had not eaten breakfast that morning. The recent decision carried the signatures of the Chairperson of the Commission Dr. Deepika Udugama and its Commissioner, Presidents Council Saliya Peiris.

The Commission had observed that the disciplinary committee of the school in question had taken an arbitrary decision within a day to remove the girl from school without holding a disciplinary inquiry according to the circular issued by the Ministry of Education. (Tharindu Jayawardena)