FUTA waiting on tax revision, bond reduction
View(s):High taxation of university lecturers is a main cause for them to leave, Vice President and Media Spokesperson of the Federation of University Teacher’s Association (FUTA), Senior Lecturer Charudaththe Illangasinghe claimed.
He said that a survey done by the University Grants Commission (UGC) revealed that as of January this year, there was a shortage of over 4,600 lecturers. From January to August, over 600 lecturers resigned.
Mr Illangasinghe said that among the reasons for the shortage were the taxes lecturers had to pay, and the new recruitments pause by the Government. Due to these reasons, many lecturers resigned from their posts and sought new ventures in foreign countries, he said.
He added that, when recruiting, the requirements to join universities are high.
Lecturers are also unhappy that when they attempt to go to other countries for further studies, they are required to sign a Rs 1.5 million bond with the university, with two guarantees. Increasingly, other lecturers are reluctant to sign as guarantors.
He stated that the quality of education is negatively impacted due to the high workload of lecturers currently serving, which causes inefficiencies in the system. The student-to-teacher ratio which has to be maintained, is also affected, reducing the attention and productivity of both teachers and students.
As a solution to this issue, the President had promised FUTA a tax revision, but they are yet to receive any information on this. The association also requested that the Government reduce the existing bond value and establish an interim system for recruiting new lecturers.
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