The “Dhamguru Abhiman Upahara – 2024” organised to appreciate the services of the Dhamma school teachers of the Homagama Sasanarakshaka Bala Mandalaya was held at the “Maharagama National Youth Service Council Auditorium” under the patronage of the Chancellor of Jayewardenepura University Ven. Itthepane Dhammalankara Nayaka Thera and with the participation of Transport, Highways and Mass Media Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardhana and other distinguished guests.
The Minister speaking at the event said; “The main problem facing Sri Lanka today is how to make the future generation of children into law-abiding and disciplined citizens. With the technological revolution that is taking place in the world, it is seen that the new generation of children is led down the wrong path faster than taking them on the right path with the help of technological tools. Many children today do not respect their parents, teachers, elders, religious leaders. They are becoming people with rough characters.
After a long educational journey, the children who are the most talented get selected for the universities, but it seems that their morals have deteriorated due to the way they behave. The above situation can be corrected through Dhamma education.
The mission of Dhamma school teachers to create a generation of children with gentle and righteous thoughts through Dhamma education and it cannot be estimated in monetarily. These hardworking teachers who teach children the right way, without earning a proper salary or remuneration and by devoting their Sundays, which they can spend relaxing, are truly gods. They have never participated in picketing or any other disruptive activities to demand a salary or increase in wages.
For a long time, it has been a request of the Dhamma school teachers and the Sasanarakshaka Bala Mandala authorities to prepare a programme to give government teaching appointments to teachers who have passed the Dharmacharya exam and have worked in Dhamma schools for a long time. At that time, as the Minister of Education, I submitted a Cabinet paper to recruit more than a thousand Dhamma school teachers across Sri Lanka according to the above qualifications and I was the Minister who had to face the most criticism and was subjected to slander and ridicule when dealing with giving teaching appointments to Dhamma school teachers.
At that time, it is clearly recorded in the Hansard reports how the current Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa criticised me in Parliament for giving teaching appointments to a thousand Dhamma school teachers. None of the people who passed the Dharmacharya exam were appointed as teachers. In such a situation, all those who contributed to appreciating the work of Dhamma school teachers in this way deserve the praise of the Nation”, the Minister said.
Maha Sangha, Colombo District Secretary K.G. Wijesiri, the Commissioner of Buddhist Affairs, Headmasters of Homagama Dhamma Schools, members of the Board of Directors, Dhamma School students and many others attended the event.
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