The Minister expressed this at a program held today (17) at the Ministry of Education regarding the sensitization of school children about the adolescent sanitation. 

At this occasion community specialist Doctor Mrs. Asanthi Fernando Balapitiya of Health Promotion Bureau delivered the special lecture on adolescent sanitation.

Further expressing her ideas, The Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasooriya stated like this.

We believe that the sanitation is directly connected with education. Some people may think what is the connection between education and sanitation. Sanitation is a right of all and everybody needs it and according to the data it shows because of the lack of sanitary facilities in school properly specially the girl children in school with less facilities miss their education at least once a month. In the same way their right to move freely in the society is also limited. That is because of the lack of proper sanitary facilities. 

Not only you the girl students, all of us have suffered with these experiences to the maximum. Not only within the school, women face these difficulties even in common society due to lack of common facilities. 

Sanitation is very important. You may ask, as males what are the things we have to know here. This is a problem of females, so let them solve it themselves. But you also have sanitary problems. In the same way, if female children face some difficulty, the male faction also must have an understanding and empathy to be sensitive about it. 

Being a successful citizen does not mean only to do a better job. If somebody in the society remains with a difficulty, it is necessary to be sensitive about it. There must be an empathy in the sensitive matters of women. And also, if you have an understanding to live in the society as a citizen, then only you are successful.

Starting from this point, we do the sensitizing of sanitation at school level. Education means a very broad concept. The education must be able to create a next generation with the ability to heel everybody in the society and to provide a leadership which is beneficial for the community and the society. The education must contain mutual respect, help each other and all such things. Therefore, the sanitation is not a thing that can be limited to the health. Sanitation is not only just talking about menstruation circle. The government concerns the availability of sanitary facilities within the schools and in the common society as a fundamental right. Sanitation is not a thing necessary to hide.

For that purpose, The Minister said that the society must be upgraded to a position where there is mutual respect, social justice, equality, protection of each other, taking care of others and giving priority to the humanity more than this.

A gathering including the Additional Secretaries of the Ministry of Education, the officers of Family Health Bureau and Health Promotion Bureau, school children and teachers participated in this occasion.

Media unit.