Home WebMail
| Calgary -1.1°C
Regions Advertise Login Contact
Action News Action News
  • World
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • Africa
    • Americas
  • Canada
  • US
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Technology
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Breaking News
  • Latest Updates
  • Featured
  • Live
  • Live Now
  • Aerial video shows the devastation from Indonesia floods, landslides
  • Liverpool vs Brighton: Premier League – teams, start time, lineups, Salah
  • Flooding destroys few remaining possessions of Palestinians in Gaza
  • ‘Maduro will leave power’: Machado vows Venezuela leadership change
  • EU looks set to indefinitely freeze hundreds of billions in Russian funds
  • Suryakumar and Gill backed to regain India mojo for T20 World Cup
  • Russian forces ‘completely cut off’ from Kupiansk, says Ukrainian commander
  • Refugees describe neighbours killed as M23 cements control of key DRC city
  • Gaza rescuers pull bodies from another collapsed house amid severe storm
  • A ‘fearful’ country? Crime concerns grip Chile ahead of presidential race
  • US slaps sanctions on Maduro family, Venezuelan tankers: What we know
  • Al Jazeera crew takes cover from Thailand-Cambodia artillery duel
  • What New Delhi can learn from China’s war on air pollution
  • New footage shows six Israeli captives held in Gaza tunnel prior to deaths
  • Eight wars ended? What’s happened to Trump’s peace deals
  • Newly released video shows Israeli captives inside Gaza tunnel
  • Ongoing Taliban-Olympic talks hope to prompt Afghan women’s rights U-turn
  • Israel bombards areas across southern Lebanon in latest truce violation
  • Liverpool’s Slot to meet Mohamed Salah amid Saudi transfer talk
  • Benin settles after failed coup attempt, but regional concerns remain
  • ICC judges stoic in face of US sanctions over Israeli war crimes cases
  • Tanker seizure is US tactic “to starve” Venezuela of cash
  • Cambodia worst it’s been “since the civil war” amid Thai conflict
  • Protests at Portuguese parliament on day of general strike
  • Why is Trump demanding travellers’ social media handles; how will it work?
  • Aerial video shows the devastation from Indonesia floods, landslides
  • Liverpool vs Brighton: Premier League – teams, start time, lineups, Salah
  • Flooding destroys few remaining possessions of Palestinians in Gaza
  • ‘Maduro will leave power’: Machado vows Venezuela leadership change
  • EU looks set to indefinitely freeze hundreds of billions in Russian funds
  • Suryakumar and Gill backed to regain India mojo for T20 World Cup
  • Russian forces ‘completely cut off’ from Kupiansk, says Ukrainian commander
  • Refugees describe neighbours killed as M23 cements control of key DRC city
  • Gaza rescuers pull bodies from another collapsed house amid severe storm
  • A ‘fearful’ country? Crime concerns grip Chile ahead of presidential race
  • US slaps sanctions on Maduro family, Venezuelan tankers: What we know
  • Al Jazeera crew takes cover from Thailand-Cambodia artillery duel
  • What New Delhi can learn from China’s war on air pollution
  • New footage shows six Israeli captives held in Gaza tunnel prior to deaths
  • Eight wars ended? What’s happened to Trump’s peace deals
  • Newly released video shows Israeli captives inside Gaza tunnel
  • Ongoing Taliban-Olympic talks hope to prompt Afghan women’s rights U-turn
  • Israel bombards areas across southern Lebanon in latest truce violation
  • Liverpool’s Slot to meet Mohamed Salah amid Saudi transfer talk
  • Benin settles after failed coup attempt, but regional concerns remain
  • ICC judges stoic in face of US sanctions over Israeli war crimes cases
  • Tanker seizure is US tactic “to starve” Venezuela of cash
  • Cambodia worst it’s been “since the civil war” amid Thai conflict
  • Protests at Portuguese parliament on day of general strike
  • Why is Trump demanding travellers’ social media handles; how will it work?
In Pictures: A dangerous climb for online school In Sri Lanka

In Pictures: A dangerous climb for online school In Sri Lanka

Teachers and schoolchildren trek for miles and climb a rock to access only internet signal available in remote village.

By Al Jazeera Published 2021-07-13 04:16 Updated 2021-07-13 04:16 2 min read Source: Al Jazeera
Explained Human Rights Science & Technology Education

Getting online school lessons for this remote Sri Lankan village requires a trek of more than three kilometres (about two miles) in dense bushes, sometimes visited by leopards and elephants.

The teachers and some 45 schoolchildren in Bohitiwaya then climb a rock to access the only internet signal available.

Information technology teacher Nimali Anuruddhika uses the signal to upload lessons for her students who have not been able to go to school because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The students who also live in the village make the same journey to download online lessons sent to them by their teachers.

Not all have mobiles or laptops, with four or five children sharing one device.

Their parents, most of whom are farmers, often accompany their children. HM Pathmini Kumari, who accompanies his sixth-grade son, says the children climb the rock twice a day and their safety is a big concern for parents.

The village in the central-eastern part of the island country lacks basic amenities, and its children had been studying in a government school, now closed, that is some 16km (10 miles) away.

In the village of Lunugala, some 60km (37 miles) away, adults escort schoolchildren to a mountaintop treehouse in a forest reserve. It is about 30 feet high and has internet access. They take turns to upload their homework and download lesson plans.

Schools in Sri Lanka have been closed for the most part since March 2020.

Authorities say they make every effort to provide all children with access to education, but Joseph Stalin, who heads the Ceylon Teachers’ Union, says at most 40 percent of Sri Lanka’s 4.3 million students can participate in online classes. The majority lack access to devices or connectivity.

Sri Lanka’s government on Monday began a campaign to vaccinate all teachers with a view to reopen schools soon.

Share this page

  • 𝕏 X/Twitter
  • 🔗 LinkedIn
  • 📘 Facebook
  • 💬 WhatsApp
  • ✉️ Email
Action News logo

Action News

A division of WestNet Continental Broadcasting

About

Part of WestNet N.A.

Action.News

Legal

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Action News Code of Ethics

Connect

  • Facebook.com/ActionNews
  • YouTube.com/@actionnew
  • Twitch.com/ActionNews
  • WhatsApp
  • Contact the Newsroom

© 2025 Action News™. All Rights Reserved.

Action News is a trademark of WestNet Continental Broadcasting. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

🔴 LIVE
Action News Live ✖
🔊 Click to unmute