Colombo schoolchildren at higher risk of road accidents: Minister

• Says there is no discipline anywhere in our country
• We should start practicing discipline at the school

By Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama  

Children attending school face a greater risk of road accidents in the densely populated city of Colombo compared to other areas of the country, Education Minister Susil Premajayantha said, addressing an event organized at the Ministry for the official launch of the ‘School Road Safety Club’. 

Therefore, he said that urgent steps have to be taken to change this tragic situation, and for that, such road safety programmes are a great support.  
“It’s notable that the majority of urban traffic accidents occur within the Colombo Municipal Council area. There are a total of 144 schools in the Colombo zone, of which 21 are national schools and another 20 fall under the international and private school categories. The remaining schools are under the Western Provincial Council,” he said.  
“196,000 children usually come to school every day within the Colombo Municipality limits. Those students used to come to schools using various methods, such as Sisu Seriya School Service, school vans, three-wheelers, and their own family private transportation modes,” he said.  
During his speech, he said that there is no discipline anywhere in our country. I’m not afraid to say that. So it is about how to discipline the children of the country if we cannot maintain discipline in the place where the laws are formed.  
“Therefore, we should start practicing discipline at the school. In a country like Japan, discipline is practiced in the pre-school grades. Our pre-school systems are totally different, and we are always trying to teach them to read, write, and count, which is more heavy on their brains,” he said.  
Meanwhile, he said if the majority of reported abuse cases in the country involve children, Facebook has emerged as the primary factor contributing to this situation.  
After Parliament passed the controversial Online Safety Bill, including Facebook, many ministers started yelling against it, but heavy criticisms were raised in the Parliament in America; even Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg apologized.  
If that situation occurs in Sri Lanka, the people will disseminate the person on social media.