Intervention related to student hostels being run illegally by private individuals

Abstract

Introduction: As a Divisional Child Protection Officer, my investigation examines the issues identified as threats to child protection through direct intervention in a complaint regarding an illegally run student hostel. The main question arising through my intervention is, while the United Nations is urging world countries to recommend reuniting children in children's homes with their families, and the Sri Lankan government is gradually closing children's homes, what mechanism does the government have to control the new emergence of student hostels? Methodology: Information was collected through observation, interviews, and the Right to Information Act during the intervention. The following issues were identified: In Sri Lanka, or at the Northern Provincial Department of Probation and Child Care Services, legal provisions and statutes only exist for running children's homes. There are no legal provisions for student hostels either in Sri Lanka or at the Northern Provincial Department of Probation and Child Care Services. Therefore, to escape the grip of the law, student hostels are emerging as a substitute for children's homes. The student hostel I intervened in is operating without any basic facilities and without the supervision of proper government institutions. Children are being admitted from one province to another without proper permission. The Northern Provincial Department of Probation and Child Care Services, which should take legal action against illegally emerging student hostels, is hesitant to do so, citing the lack of legal provisions related to student hostels. Findings: The finding through my intervention is that if the government does not control at the beginning the emergence of student hostels for business purposes, which are a threat to children living in a family environment, student hostels may increase in the future, similar to how private educational institutions have emerged parallel to schools, and parallel to children's homes. Conclusion: Therefore, in addition to the efforts taken by the government to gradually reduce children's homes, my recommendation is that new laws should be created and implemented to stop individuals other than school administration from starting children's homes under the guise of student hostels.