The Sunday issue of Lankadeepa proudly displays a small child being taken into the Sangha. Apparently it's part of a programme attract 2550 newcomers to the Sasana in Sri Lanka.

I see a couple of serious issues in this.

1. Most children who are taken into robes are around the ages 8-12. This country has age of consent for sex at 16. If the country recognizes the fact that a child at the age of 15 cannot decide for him/herself whether they can have sex, why doesn't the people recognize that it's impossible for a child to decide whether he wants to sacrifice his entire future to the Sangha Sasana.
2. There was a clip shown a while ago in a TV programme called Atapattama, where an entire family took to robes. This might seemingly be a very religious act. If the parents want to sacrifice their lives for a "cause", it's their life. Why the hell do you drag your kids into it?
3. When I've spoken to the handful of Samaneras in temples that I've been to, and when I ask them where they are from, it's generally areas like Polonnaruwa, Anuradhapura, Hambantota etc. And the reason they took to robes was not out of the passion they, or their parents had for the religion, but because getting into robes is a surefire way of ensuring that your education is payed for, you're well nourished, and you're well looked after. Basically, the Sangha Sasana is seen by poor parents as a fully paid scholarship.
4. And what about the numerous sexual molestation cases against young monks? These people are at the peak of their sexual intensity, and they are strictly expected to abstain. And what happens is, their sexual tensions are relieved by the way of taking it up the wrong one with young monks, who have no idea what's happening to them.

Kill me for saying this, but to me the "conscription" by the Sangha Sasana is worse than LTTE and Karuna put together. At least someone points the finger at them, where as even our pathetic excuse for a leader hails this mass violation of human rights by Buddhist Monks.