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Universities in race to catch up with missed lectures
Extra classes and semester extensions are among the measures university authorities are adopting to overcome the backlog of academic activities – a result of the three-month-long academics’ strike which ended last week. But, students said these moves had put them under pressure for no fault of theirs.
Back to university after three months: Kelaniya students share a light moment. Pix by Mangala Weerasekera
“Three months were an utter waste. We couldn’t join even a private course because we weren’t sure when the universities will be opened again. Now the administration has taken a decision to extend the semester by three months.
This means that the degree will be delivered with a three month’s delay,” said C. L. Edirisooriya, a science faculty student at the University of Kelaniya.
Endorsing his views, Thisarani Jayasinghe, another student from the same faculty, said it was the students who suffered the most from the dispute between the academics and the authorities. However, she said she was happy that the university system was back to normal with lectures being held without any disruptions.
Jayewardenepura University’s management faculty student Tharini de Silva said students were forced to learn six months of work in three months. But vice chancellors said these new measures were being taken to ensure the smooth functioning of universities and they were careful not to cause hardship to the students.
Rajarata University Vice Chancellor K. A. Nandasena said lecturers from the four of the five faculties in his university joined the strike and at a meeting with the deans of all the faculties, a decision was taken to conduct extra classes to cover the missed lectures. He assured these extra classes would be held without harming the qualitative aspect of the course.
Prof. Nandasena said the strike started just prior to the management faculty examinations and moves were underway to conduct the exams as early as possible.
Covering the missed lectures is not the only problem the universities face. Adding to their problems is the extra intake of new students following the Supreme Court ruling in the case over Z-score disputes. Prof. Nandasena said the extra intake of students meant extra expenditure for the universities. The university had worked out the extra costs and sought more funds from authorities.
Jayawardenapura University Vice Chancellor N. L. A. Karunaratna said his university would also conduct extra classes to cover the syllabus without burdening the students with extra work or adding to their pressure. Asked about the extra intake, he said his university was prepared to handle it as it was not the first time when universities had been asked to accommodate more students.
He said the request to take in more students was an opportunity for university authorities to show they were capable of facing challenges. University officials said they were building temporary lecture rooms and renovating existing facilities to accommodate the extra students and Peradeniya University Vice Chancellor Athula Senarathne said that with the semester extended, academic were going on without any hindrance. He said some buildings and facilities were being renovated and extended to accommodate the extra students.
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