University academics and the Government are deadlocked over the salary demands of the former with the Higher Education Ministry refusing to agree to the demands of the academics.
The Federation of University Teachers’ Association (FUTA) staged a protest last Thursday with a protest march from the Colombo University premises at Reid Avenue to the Colombo Public Library premises at Sir Marcus Fernando Mawatha, both in Colombo 7.
The main objectives of the protest was to show the displeasure of the academics at the Government’s way of handling the university system and to show the public the reality concerning higher education, said FUTA spokesman Dr. Mahin Mendis.
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| The protest on Thursday was a success says FUTA.
Pic by Indika Handuwala |
However when the Sunday Times spoke to the Higher Education Ministry Secretary Sunil Jayantha Navaratne, he stated that the Government has done everything possible to satisfy the needs of the university lecturers.
We have given housing loans up to one million rupees to non-academics and up to two million rupees to academics, he said.
With regard to the salaries of the lecturers he said the Government recently raised the fee of visiting lecturers and for paper marking. “The Government has to look into various sectors of which education is a part and the Government finds it difficult to manage the Budget because Sri Lanka is a developing country,” he said.
He further said it would be easier for the Government to pay higher salaries to the academics if the universities were fee levying institutions. “We don’t charge fees and the reason other countries can pay more to academics is because they charge every student who attends the university. If we can at least charge fees from the students who can afford to pay then we wouldn’t have to face such a problem,” he said.
He explained that another solution for this was to take in foreign students.
When asked about academics leaving the country he said the Government cannot pay as much as academics are paid in the USA or other countries the academics go to.
“How can we pay here the salaries paid in the USA? We have to take note that in Sri Lanka the cost of living is comparatively low too,” he said.
He further explained that since education in Sri Lanka is free the academics who leave the country should know that they have to serve the country in return for receiving free education.
Regarding private universities Mr. Navaratne said that the annual university intake is around 25,000 students and the rest have no place to go but to a private institution to complete their education. “Taking these private universities out is not justifiable. Where can the students who can’t get into a Government university go?” he asked.
At the protest FUTA has asked the Government to look into some of the demands.
Dr. Mendis said that one demand was to ask the Government to ensure that at least 6% of the GDP be allocated for education.
“Only 1.8% of the national income is spent on the education system here when even poor countries like Ethiopia allocate 4.5% of the national income and Bangladesh allocates 13%,” he said.
He further explained that the FUTA shows its concern at the mushrooming of private educational institutions which are ‘found in every corner’ of the country.
The government has commercialized education by allowing private institutions to operate. He said universities cannot be established this way. The academics are against such activities of the Government. A university is a sacred institution to which the Government should provide physical and human resources. The Government talks about making Sri Lanka a knowledge hub but what it is talking is mere rhetoric, he said.
“The protest was extremely successful. We were able to convey our message to the Government and the public. We don’t expect any miracle to happen after the protest but we did their part for a better education system for the country, Dr. Mendis said.
Dr. Mendis charged the Government has being recruiting politically motivated staff to the universities from the level of vice-chancellor to university council member.
Because of this the rightful persons for these seats don’t get the posts, he said.
He also said that another reason for the protest was to stop political parties from patronizing specific student groups to build up tension among the students and in the universities.
These students who are motivated by the involvement of politicians take the law into their hands and disturb the university environment, he said. |
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