Atamasthana Adhipathi Ven. Pallegama Hemarathana Thera yesterday (28) urged the organisers of Poson Day celebrations to postpone the activities at least for two weeks, as the celebrations could cause inconveniences to G.C.E. Ordinary Level Examination (O/L) commencing today (29).
Speaking at a meeting held with Government officials and parents, Hemarathana Thera opined that most of the celebrations in Vesak and Poson festive seasons have been organised without knowing the purpose of those festivals.
The meeting was held to discuss a festival organised by the Anuradhapura Municipal Council in the Harishchrandra stadium in Anuradhapura, which allegedly caused inconvenience to the students sitting for the O/L examination in three leading schools in the vicinity of the stadium. “The organisers should have paid attention when arranging a carnival-like event during the period of a major examination. According to the parents this could cause many inconveniences to the children who are to sit for the exam. So I requested from the Municipal Council to look into the issue very seriously and to take steps to change dates if possible. However my personal opinion is this is unsuitable for the season as we should not convert these Buddhist festivals to a carnival. So I urged the responsible authorities to take actions immediately without disturbing students and this examination,” he said.
Responding to the Thera, the Anuradhapura Municipal Commissioner Ruwan Wijesinghe said that they are trying their best to postpone the date of the festivals, but they were not certain if it is possible as all the necessary arrangements have already been done. The commissioner also said that they are not able to find land which has the same capacity.
Speaking to the media yesterday, the President of Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) Priyantha Fernando said that such festivals would distract the O/L exam candidates, many of whom are in school hostels.
“There are three schools in the vicinity of this ground. Most of the students in these schools come to examinations from schools’ hostels. So they are in the hostels even after the exam. Therefore those students will not be able to get ready for the exam because of this carnival. That is why we requested from Nayaka Theras and other responsible authorities to take actions to stop this, making a healthy atmosphere for those students,” he said.
It is learnt that the Municipal Council has agreed to postpone it to next week. However, parents of exam candidates have urged them to postpone it to the end of the examination.