The Water Supply and Drainage Board has issued a circular stating that water charges will be charged from government schools from last month. (Sri Lanka Latest News)
So far no water fee was charged from the schools and free water was provided for the students.
It is stated in the circular that 400 liters of water will be provided free per month to students, and academic and non-academic staff, assuming that schools will be open for 20 days per month.
It states that if the consumption is more than that, the fees should be charged by the school administration.
Also, the Water Supply and Drainage Board said that one new water supply will be provided free of charge for schools that currently do not have water supply, and when an additional water supply is obtained, the prescribed fee will be charged.
It is mentioned in the circular that separate water supplies should be provided for the principal, teachers’ houses and swimming pools, and the charges of the official houses should be paid by the residents and the bills of the swimming pools from the income obtained through renting them.
However, the teachers’ unions point out that this circular puts more burden on the parents.
Regarding this circular, we made an inquiry to Ruwan Liyanage, General Manager of Water Supply and Drainage Board, and he said that the purpose of this is to manage the huge wastage of water in schools.
However, Education Minister Susil Premajayantha stated that it is not possible to manage water in schools through such measures and that he is not aware of this circular.
The minister said this while attending a news conference held today at the Presidential Media Center.
Source: hirunews
