Academics to boycott A/L evaluation meeting

Dailymirror lk

In spite of Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena’s plan to initiate 2012 A/L evaluation this week, academics today said they will not be attending the evaluators’ meeting scheduled for September 24.

Federation of University Teachers Association (FUTA) President Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri speaking to the Daily Mirror said all FUTA members have been instructed to boycott the 2012 A/L evaluation meeting scheduled for September 24 by the Examinations Department.

The 2012 A/L answer script evaluations are facing an unprecedented delay due to the trade union action of academics. The paper marking process was scheduled to commence on September 1.

Meanwhile, he also rejected reports of a fraction of academics giving up the trade union action.

“The government claims nearly 100 academics have left the trade union action and that more are to follow. These figures they release are manipulated and are grossly inaccurate. Our trade union action has not met any such disruption and it will continue with the strength of all academics’ participation,” he added.  (Lakna Paranamanna)

Medical Faculty lecturers of Sri Lanka's Peradeniya University to join the academics' strike 
Fri, Sep 21, 2012, 08:23 am SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.

Sept 21, Colombo: The months-long strike of the university teachers of Sri Lanka is getting a boost as the medical faculty lecturers, who so far have not participated in the strike, have also decided to join it.
Accordingly, the lecturers of the medical faculty of the University of Peradeniya will join the strike from Monday September 24th, Federation of University Teachers' Associations (FUTA) says.
The Medical Faculty Lecturers' Association of the Peradeniya University says that their members will continue the strike in support of the FUTA protesting the authorities against not taking action to solve the problem and not paying the salaries of the striking university teachers.
The medical faculty lecturers also protest the Minister of Higher Education S.B. Dissanayaka for his stance that furthers the crisis.
They have promised to join the protest marches the FUTA will start from Kandy and Galle on Monday.
Medical faculty lecturers so far have not participated in the strike and the medical faculties island wide were operating as normal.

One stage of A/L evaluation removed

FRIDAY, 21 SEPTEMBER 2012 11:16

Lanka Truth

The Department of Examinations has decided to reduce the number of stages that have been maintained until now in the process of evaluation of A/L answer scripts say reports. 
The Commissioner General of Examinations W.M.N.J. Pushpakumara, speaking to the media, has said the evaluation process of the A/L 2012 examination has not commenced due to the continuous strike launched by university teachers and the process that followed three stages would be reduced to two stages.
Speaking further The Commissioner General has said 400 professors and lecturers, 12,000 to 15,000 teachers and teacher instructors are needed for evaluation process. He also has pointed out that management of evaluation units and the consistency between subjects and evaluation units are maintained by university teachers.

UNP pledges support to FUTA struggle

By Aisha Nazim, Ceylon Today

The Main Opposition UNP will extend their support to the university academics’ struggle  and be part of the cross-country procession organized by the lecturers next Monday (24). Addressing a media briefing yesterday, UNP MP Akila Viraj Kariyawasam also urged  the public to participate in the campaign and fight to protect State education. He said the academics’ demands are very reasonable and that the government should  resolve the issues instead of suppressing and threatening those who were fighting to  protect the education sector. “The tyres in the vehicle of the Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) President were slashed, and the vehicle was coated in blood one day. His wife was threatened. Student leaders are being arrested. Meanwhile, the sons of ministers can do anything  they want and get away with it too. People who press charges against them recant their allegations,  while men who were tied to trees by politicians issue statements saying that they tied themselves to the tree – all because they are afraid of what will happen to them. Such is the state of  law in our country,” he said. Though the government says it cannot afford to grant salary increments or allocate higher funds for education as there is not enough money, Kariyawasam charged that  the government wasted millions of rupees for Provincial Council election campaigns. Even though the Elections Commissioner had set a certain amount of funds that could be spent on campaigns, the expenses were doubled as the government candidates used State funds to cover their expenses, he alleged. While the government was flagrantly spending on unnecessary projects, some 1,400 schools in the country are short of basic facilities including water, and 10,000 patients are on the waiting list for heart surgery at the National Hospitals, he said. “The health and education sectors are severely underfunded, yet millions of rupees are spent on carpeting roads all around the country though there are much important things to be done,” Kariyawasam charged.