Letters to the Editor
View(s):Why can’t we make life more enjoyable in our universities like in other countries?
I have just one simple question!
Why does ragging have to be permanent?
All those who enter University have to go through various forms of torture and stress by the harassment they receive from the seniors.
All those years of studying and the happiness of getting selected to a University is no longer a joy to the student nor her/his parents any more.
Even after passing A/Ls very well some students do not wish to register with a local university. They prefer to attend a private university or do a course or go abroad for further studies to avoid the unpleasant ragging that has been going on for years.
Why can’t the freshers who went through all that harassment decide “okay let’s put an end to this” when they become seniors? We are a Buddhist country. How can such horrible ragging take place? It harms students and sometimes even ends up in suicide when they cannot bear the pain anymore.
The authorities cannot control this and only the students who go through such a bad period can make the freshers feel welcome by not ragging them anymore. Just because we were ragged and harassed it does not mean that we need to torture the freshers. Learn to forgive and not take revenge on the innocent freshers who enter the university with big dreams. By making it a pleasant place to study, everybody could enjoy life in University like in other countries.
Students should not be encouraged to rag others. This is a form of slavery and I do not agree if seniors believe that this is the way to psychologically tame the freshers.
All religions teach us to be kind to one another. Senior university students should not be revengeful but take steps to stop ragging for good.
Anuree Weerasekera Via email
Firing the coach: This is simply not cricket
It is not cricket to fire a coach of a cricket team just because the team could not win the World Cup. We all knew that Sri Lanka could never reach the finals as they were not up to par. We were competing for the last slot with Afghanistan.
The deterioration of Sri Lanka cricket started due to mismanagement like Sri Lankan politics as the capable man is never given a place. This is the bane of our country.
Chandika Hathurusinghe has always been an excellent coach. When his terms were negotiated, it was a contract of offer and acceptance. The coach insisted that he should be part of the selection process and the Board agreed. He selected the best players and, at a certain stage, the Board did not allow him to be on the selection panel. As a result, certain players had the opportunity of going on a free trip to the World Cup with their families and failed miserably as players.
Now, the Sports Minister gets involved and wants the coach fired. They did not consider his position – he is one of our own past Test players who brought Bangladesh to the limelight. It was to his credit that the Sri Lankan team registered their first series win in Test cricket in South Africa.
Indrakumar Wijayatilake Kandy