Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Universities closed, committee deliberations drag on

, The Island

by Zacki Jabbar

 The appointment of various committees, whose deliberations drag on for months on end, seems to be the government’s solution to the crisis in the education sector, the UNP said yesterday.

While the Z-Score issue had caused heartburn and chaos among students, the majority of campuses remained closed, UNP’s media spokesperson Gayantha Karunathillake MP, said addressing a news conference in Colombo. "The answer to the crisis has been to appoint more committees which churn out endless recommendations. But none are implemented properly. The end result is that the youth get demoralized, frustrated and end up protesting on the streets."

He said that the ‘Mahinda Chintana’ had pledged to establish ‘Supiri Pasal’ (Well equipped Schools). However, most of the village institutions of learning had been shut down.

The Irrigation Minister, instead of providing farmers with water, had criticised them for cultivating paddy without consulting the Ministry. Now, he and several prominent Ministers have pledged compensation of over Rs.100,000 to each affected farmer. But no such beneficiary could be found anywhere in the country. This was similar to the bogus pledge of a Rs.2,500 salary hike for public servants, Karunathillake said.

The ‘Mahindadoya’ slogan ‘Rata Ekata, Yamu Perata’, had transformed itself into ‘Rata Ekata, Yamu Walata’, the MP said adding that everything seemed to be going down the drain with farmers pouring thousands of litres of unsold milk on to the roads.

"The masses are now searching for the liars and rogues in the government to teach them a good lesson. They would begin by voting for the UNP on September 8", Karunathillake predicted.