ABDF

Ah, to be a fifth grader again.

Each August, the Ministry of Education gives a nationwide test to all fifth graders. In actuality, it’s a poverty eradication program. Those that get above a certain score, which changes year by year depending on how many students are tested, receives 500 rupees (about $4.50) a month through the rest of their academic career; this amount goes up to 3,000 rupees a month for those who get into university. Given that a student can have an additional 13 years of education, over the long term this can mean a lot of money. The money is meant to be spent on school supplies and uniforms, and those from families above a certain income level are ineligible.

Needless to say that the exam is very difficult; it’s designed to winnow out all but the best students. If you are a child living along the coastal strip of Batticaloa, you have a lot of advantages; schools are much better equipped, and there are many after-school “tuition” classes you can take to bone up on the exam. As a result, town-living students get almost 100% of the money.

Second graders at Irunuroovil

Irunuroovil (i-ru-NUR-ow-ville) is a rice farming hamlet located some 30 kilometers west of Batticaloa, deep in the interior jungle of the District. The population is scattered over a wide area, and the “downtown” of the hamlet consists of the school, a small temple, and two shacks selling basics such a snacks, onions, and sugar-packet size packages of laundry detergent. There is no mobile phone service, no electricity, no clean water, and one narrow dirt road that is more of a sand track than an actual road.

ABDF first visited the school in late 2007, shortly after the military offensive had driven the LTTE from the area, with the idea of installing a water pump so the villagers could have clean water. Just a month or so after the offensive, the school was a wreck; everything moveable, even the grills on the windows, had been looted, school records had been dumped outside and carried into the jungle by the breeze, and the toilet had been demolished. As it turned out we were unable to carry out our project; the security situation quickly became extremely unstable, what with bands of militia roaming about and running amok, and the government forbidding all foreigners from entry into the interior of the District. It wasn’t until 2009 that it was safe enough to work in the closer-in parts of the interior, and not until this year, 2010, that foreigners were allowed into the remote areas.

The 2010 members of EIA

The Education Incentive Association (EIA) consists of a group of medical students from Eastern University, which serves Batticaloa District, in coalition with Batticaloa-born engineering students attending Peradiniya and Moratuwa Universities. In existence for 15 years, membership is made up of around 50 active student members and 200 University alumni. The purpose of the Association is to promote math and science among Batticaloa high school students with the aim of increasing the number of medical and engineering undergrads.