“If the closure was to do with the anniversary on 27th November,
the University has the machinery to communicate with the students and
seek assurances from them. The day was already taken care of by the
mid-semester vacation. 27th November, the Mullivaykkal debacle of 18th May, the Anuradhapura massacre of 14th May and the Kattankudy Mosque massacre of 3rd August
are all etched in our history. A mature university should have
inter-communal discussions on how we look at history and how we are
going to deal with it. An authoritarian university culture with its
resort to the like of emergency regulations, will never take a mature
approach.” asks the Jaffna University Science Teachers Association.
Writing to its Vice Chancellor the JUSTA says; “The UGC Chairman had
no authority to instruct universities to in effect stop undergraduate
programmes and give a vacation to undergraduate students.”
We publish below the statement in full;
To the Vice Chancellor and Members of the Council
University of Jaffna
Dear Sir/Madam,
We, the Executive Committee of the Jaffna University Science Teachers
Association draw your attention to recent developments. These impair
the democratic character of the University that is meant to be
participatory and consultative, keeping in view the need to cultivate
mutual respect among all sections; and certainly not be authoritarian in
its approach. In this connection we draw your attention to recent
messages and instructions about the closure of the University for three
weeks. The content of the messages is contradictory, arbitrary and of
questionable propriety. They resemble more the arbitrary powers usurped
by the State under the Emergency Regulations and are devoid of the due
regard that should always be implicit when dealing with fellow academics
and students.
When instructions are given in an academic context that lack reason
or substance, they degrade an institution and entrench a culture where
arbitrary and unfair actions become the norm. It would take many years
to come out of it. We look at some of these messages.
1.
The UGC Chairman had no authority to instruct universities to in effect
stop undergraduate programmes and give a vacation to undergraduate
students. Such an instruction has to come from the Minister. The
Chairman in her letter of 6th November was vague about the
source of the order – ‘it was decided’. She was hard put to defend it.
According to reports quoted by the FUTA, she had cited requests from students and ‘study about the CHOGM’.
If her reason of traffic in Colombo is to be taken seriously, the whole
of Colombo should have been vacated for the CHOGM, not just student
hostels. The use of the library is important for students.
2. Following on the Chairman’s improper instruction, the Vice
Chancellor, citing a discussion with the Deans’ Committee, decided on an
extended vacation from 11th November to 1st
December for undergraduate students of all faculties except Medicine.
This exception points to a class difference that is inimical to the
traditions of the University. Is it because medical students do exactly
as they are told by their teachers and are unquestioningly obedient?
What authority does the so-called Deans’ Committee have to require the
vacation of hostels? The Vice Chancellor however did not declare the
University out of bounds to students.
3. The Dean Science issued two notices. He did not refer to the
Deans’ Committee or to the Vice Chancellor, and instead announced a
decision of the Heads’ meeting to suspend lectures from 11th November to 1st December. He issued a second notice subsequently the same day, 7th
November, ‘The Faculty of Science is declared out of bounds to the
students’ for the period of suspension of lectures. He did not say where
the authority came from. Neither was the Faculty consulted, nor was any
reason given.
One could laugh at this confused welter of instructions, but the
emerging culture in which they appear raises many troubling questions.
As academics we are asked to do what we are told and to accept authority
without question. The environment has lost its academic character. When
we cohabit with unreason, we become unreasonable and corrupt. Aspects
of the emerging culture are already visible.
If the closure was to do with the anniversary on 27th
November, the University has the machinery to communicate with the
students and seek assurances from them. The day was already taken care
of by the mid-semester vacation. 27th November, the Mullivaykkal debacle of 18th May, the Anuradhapura massacre of 14th May and the Kattankudy Mosque massacre of 3rd
August are all etched in our history. A mature university should have
inter-communal discussions on how we look at history and how we are
going to deal with it. An authoritarian university culture with its
resort to the like of emergency regulations, will never take a mature
approach.
Ours is the only university system the poor of this country have. If
we downgrade it through abuse, we serve our students badly and will
become party to the excessive regard given to qualifications outside our
university system.
Thanking You,
Yours sincerely,
General Secretary -JUSTA
