Powwow to solve Colombo Uni teacher shortage due today

Former FUTA Chief won’t go back until problem is solved

May 27, 2014, 9:42 pm , The Island

By Dasun Edirisinghe

The Dean of the Colombo University Arts Faculty and all department heads will meet Vice Chancellor Dr. Wijaya Kumara Hirimburegama this morning to take up the issue of the shortage of lecturers.

Head of the History Department of the Colombo Arts Faculty Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri staged a sit-in last Thursday near the office of Vice Chancellor to protest against the shortage of lecturers in his department. He even threatened a hunger strike, but subsequently agreed to suspend his protest following an assurance given by the Arts Faculty Dean Prof. Athula Ranasinghe and other department heads to help solve the problem.

Following the pledge, the dean and all department heads requested a discussion with the VC and today’s meeting is the result.

Dr. Dewasiri told The Island yesterday that he could not run his department without at least two more lecturers as it had only five permanent lecturers and two of them were on leave abroad at present.

The former FUTA chief said that he had suspended his protest on the assurance of the Arts Faculty Dean and expected a solution at today’s meeting.

"I’ll not leave the VC’s office unless I receive an acceptable solution to the lecturer shortage," Dr. Dewasiri said.

He said that the Faculty board, too, had discussed the problem at length at a meeting on Tuesday evening.