Dons brave rain to march by Dasun Edirisinghe

September 24, 2012, 11:38 pm , The Island

Rain gods yesterday battered the first phase of the 118-km-long march by striking university dons, who commenced their walk from Galle in protest against the government’s failure to resolve the crisis in the education sector.

Soon after the march commenced from near the Galle Fort, at 9.00 a.m., the university lecturers came under heavy attack by the weather gods,

which continued intermittently till they completed the first phase at Ambalangoda last evening.

Several political and civil organisation leaders marched with university teachers who passed the 90th consecutive day of their strike yesterday, urging the government to allocate six percent of the GDP for the education sector, to depoliticise the universities and to ensure the participation of the university teachers in education reforms. The government has not responded favourably to these demands.

JVP Leader Somawansa Amarasinghe, MP Vijitha Herath, UNP Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa, UNP MPs Dr. Jayalath Jayawardena and Ravi Karunanayake, Southern Provincial Council members and the local government members joined in the march braving the rain.

President of the Federation of University Teachers’ Associations Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri told The Island last evening, after reaching Ambalangoda, "There was no hindrance from any quarter except for the rain. We will continue our struggle and resume our march tomorrow morning."

The march resumes at 9.00 a.m. from Ambalangoda today and will proceed upto Aluthgama. It resumes at 9.00 a.m. on September 26, 27 and 28 from the towns of Aluthgama, Kalutara and Moratuwa. It is scheduled to reach Colombo next Friday evening (28).