FUTA on  The Island report

August 9, 2012, 10:07 pm , the island

Apropos our page 3 story captioned ‘FUTA in new partnership with JVP to win demands’ in Thursday’s issue of The Island, Prof. Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri has sent us the following clarification: "At the press conference held after a meeting between the FUTA and JVP, I did not say that I met Anura Kumara Dissanayaka, MP, at the Parliament and I have actually never done so though there is nothing wrong even if I had met him in parliament.  What I referred to was that Anura Kumara Dissanayaka took up the cause of the FUTA several times in the parliament as a matter of national interest. When I said that "we intend to transform the ongoing struggle into a people’s struggle" the "we" referred to here is FUTA and it does not refer to any joint programme to be launched by the FUTA with the JVP. While the FUTA is open to meet and discuss its demands with any political party or civil society organization that is open to such discussions, the FUTA will remain a politically independent trade union which pursues its own agenda in the collective interest of the FUTA membership."

News Editor: Our story was based on a statement issued by the JVP.

 

Teachers and pupils must turn to  modern technology to ease their woes

August 8, 2012, 12:00 pm, the island




By R. Chandrasoma Students sitting GCE A/L this year (File photo)
Two factors militate against good teaching and responsive learning in our schools and universities. The first is that children and young adults that we deal with today in classrooms and elsewhere are far more restive and ill-tempered than in the decades past. In an earlier age obstreperous children were hammered into submission by rhinoceros-like teachers. Such direct methods are no longer possible and a class with docile and eager pupils is a thing of the past. This makes the job of the teacher very difficult indeed as he has to quell initial indifference or even hostility before launching into the core task of teaching. It is here that the personality of the teacher counts – if he is unfazed by initial boisterousness and impresses his class by the quality of his teaching, then good work can be done. Alas, quality teachers are now a rare species and quiet classrooms with the ambience needed for good teaching are equally difficult to find. A way out of this impasse is to use modern technology to thwart these seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

Suppose we have an excellent teacher – a man (or woman) who excels in the art of presenting a difficult subject eloquently and blessed with that charisma that holds an audience even when the subject-matter is difficult or frankly boring. Such a teacher is a ‘rara avis’ and cannot be easily duplicated. There is, however, a form of duplication that is easily done thanks to the wonderful advances in communications technology. The exceptional teacher we referred to earlier can have his lesson video-filmed with sounds and pictures recorded for others to see and here with remarkable fidelity. With the gadgetry available today this can be done at a very low cost – indeed, this can be done with a smart-phone of the kind sold by the thousand. Suppose a battery of lessons in Physics by a skilled teacher confronting an alert class is recorded live – this ‘material’ is now a transferable ‘file’ that can be passed to thousand of pupils separated in time and space. Today, the USB drive – a very small and compact device – is the preferred ‘medium’ for the transfer of large masses of moveable data (up to 8GB currently)

Let us see how this encoded ‘virtual lesson’ reaches pupils. Due to the sad lack of technical sophistication on the part of those in commanding positions, ‘computer studies’ in schools and universities are largely a business of providing ‘terminals’ for hands-on studies in the use of these wonderful devices. This approach is truly a waste of resources – a school with a thousand pupils can have – at most – about 50 terminals in a ‘Computer room’. This allows for a little practice in how to tap keys and push a mouse – but little else given the time allotted for each pupil. What is missed here by planners is that computer use ls like the driving of an automobile – there is no need to learn about the mechanism that underlies the motion of the car to be skilled in its use. Moreover, the best way of improving one’s competence is by actual use – not by taking short lessons on the mechanisms involved.

How does all this translate into practical approaches that truly enhance learning and teaching? The key to the resolution of our difficulties is the lap-top computer or equivalent mobile devices such as note-books and tablets. The ruling idea is this – instead of the costly and clumsy manoeuvre of having ‘terminals’ and ‘rooms’ for sporadic computer use, all pupils in the higher classes in schools and all university students must be encouraged to have personal lap-top computers - the ‘hardware’ that constitute the vital link for ‘receiving knowledge’ and dynamically interacting with the freely available data-bases.

Let us return to the model lesson given by the virtuoso teacher. This lesson is made open-access property by its conversion into a data-file that is freely transferable. With a personal laptop at his command, all that the pupil need do is to plug in the loaded USB drive to see and hear a great teacher in action explaining the finer points of the topic under study. An entire course in Physics (for example) can be made available across the country by a simple extension of this technique. The lesson (or a battery of lessons) is now freed of the constraints of time, place and resource-availability as the teaching is conducted in a ‘virtual class-room’ instantiated in circumstances of one’s own choosing. A leading feature of this system is that pupils across the country will learn the subject in a standard form that bypasses the local constraints to good instruction that are unavoidable given the poor state of most of our schools . All this does not mean that schools can close down. Learning is strongly collegial and discussions with teachers and fellow-pupils is a powerful incentive to the mastery of any subject. This latter phase can be truly reinvigorating if the subject has already been expertly presented in a non-challenging home environment. Teachers will find a class of prepared pupils – whose interest and curiosity have been roused by the prior educational encounter with the wizardly of the computer.

Today, all serious students find Wikipedia and YouTube indispensable companions in the pursuit of knowledge. Indeed, the portable computer is now the chief vehicle for pursuit of knowledge at all levels of sophistication. The persistence of an outmoded method of learning and teaching – the ancient method of a pupil sitting at the feet of a pompous and opiniated ‘master’ who demands submission as a condition for ex-cathedra instruction – is an anachronism that must go with such things as steam locomotives and horse-drawn carriages. The new method – based on companionship with computers - if fully and successfully implemented - will usher in a new age of humane education. There are, undoubtedly, a few problems – the chief of which are the high cost of a lap-top machine and the danger of young minds seeing this instrument as the gateway to forbidden visual delights. These difficulties must be overcome.

A coda to the discussion above may be useful – we witness today a strike by University Teachers demanding salary hikes etc. that truly have little or nothing to do with the improvement of university education. If the salaries of these worthies are doubled, it it would be a miracle if the quality of their teaching is also ‘doubled’. What is needed to raise standards is to install a computerized ‘delivery system’ of the kind discussed above. Such a system will allow striking dons to remain at home for about a year – greatly easing the burden of running the current ramshackle ‘apparatus’ of higher education.

FUTA in new partnership with JVP to win demands

August 8, 2012, 10:40 pm , the island

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Having held discussions with the JVP yesterday, the Federation of University Teachers’ Association (FUTA) declared that it would expand the ongoing struggle for higher wages and enhanced state funding for the education sector.

Addressing the media at the JVP head office, FUTA President Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Devasiri said that the JVP and FUTA intended to transform the ongoing struggle into a people’s struggle. He said that they could work together as the JVP was keen on this particular issue.

JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva said that the party was ready to spearhead a common programme with the participation of the people. Silva strongly supported FUTA’s demand for the allocation of 6 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for education.

The JVP delegation comprised Tilvin Silva, JVP Parliamentary group leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake, MP Vijitha Herath and Nalin Jayatissa. The FUTA D delegation included Prof. Devasiri, Ven. Dambara Amila thero, Dr. Kumudu Kusum Kumara, Dr Anura Kumara, senior lecturer Dileepa Vitharana and Dr. Jinasena Hewage.

Dr. Devasiri said that FUTA had had the opportunity to brief the JVP on its demands as well as proposals.

The FUTA had a longstanding understanding with the JVP, particularly National List MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Dr. Devasiri said, adding that they had met in Parliament on several occasions to discuss the issue.

Dr. Devasiri quoted JVP delegates as having said that their party would back FUTA initiative. The JVP had also stressed the importance of bringing the struggle to a successful conclusion, the FUTA chief said.

Cartoon of the Day, the island

Govt. destroying education system the way it wiped out LTTE – Ranil

August 6, 2012, 10:14 pm, the island


by Zacki Jabbar

 The UNP and the United Socialist Alliance (USA) yesterday launched an interaction with various stakeholders in the education system with a view to countering what they called the government’s retrograde policies.

A group of nearly 300 university teachers, former directors of education and members of the administrative service participated in the discussion at the Parliamentary Complex with UNP and USA leaders including Ranil Wickremesinghe, Joseph Michael Perera, Tissa Atttanayake, Ravi Karunanayake, Kabir Hashim and Sritunga Jayasuriya.

Wickremesinghe said that the government instead of improving the education system was destroying it with a sense of vigour that it had displayed in the last stages of the war against the LTTE.

Resolving the complex problems that had crippled the education sector required skill, understanding and an enlightened approach. The attitude of the President and his Ministers of Education and Higher Education left much to be desired, Wickremesinghe noted.

Wickremesinghe said that the opposition had already presented two private members motions to parliament to ensure that all students received free education until they completed their higher studies.

As a beneficiary of free education it was his wish that future generations should also be given the same opportunity, the UNP leader said.

The university teachers in response said that they wanted at least six percent of the GDP to be allocated for education and not the measly 1.8 percent at present. Their demand for a salary hike and issues such as the Z-Score should be implemented in a practical and efficient manner. Failure to resolve their grievances would result in continuation of their trade union action, they said.

The interaction ended with all participants agreeing to meet shortly to assess the situation and decide on a future course of action.

No uni. admissions unitil Z-score dispute settled

UGC informs Supreme Court

August 6, 2012, 10:05 pm , the island

By Chitra Weerarathne

 President’s Counsel Faiz Mustapha yesterday gave an undertaking to the Supreme Court that no admission would be made to any of the universities for the academic year commencing on October 15 until the complaint filed by the old syllabus students was settled.

Mustapha made the submission appearing on behalf of the University Grants Commission (UGC) in the fundamental rights violation application filed by a group of GCE A/L students who sat the 2011 examination under the old syllabus.

Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake asked Attorney General Palitha Fernando PC, whether he believed that the UGC had taken the relevant steps as ordered in the Supreme Court judgment of June 29, 2012, to recalculate and re-issue the Z-Score for the GCE A/L August 2011 examination, taking the old and new syllabi as different populations.

The Attorney General replied that the UGC had abided by the Court order, re-calculated the Z-Scores and re-issued them. However, a difficulty had arisen in the selection for admissions from the two populations. The UGC had consulted a team of academic experts and pooled the two sets for ranking to work out university admissions.

He said that if anybody was aggrieved, he was ready to talk to the relevant parties and arrive at a settlement favourable to all.

The Chief Justice said that the Supreme Court judgment clearly had clearly stated that the two syllabi were different populations and they should be dealt with separately. They should not have been pooled together. If the UGC had had a problem in understanding the judgment, the UGC should have consulted the Attorney General who would have moved the Court for a clarification, she said.

In this fundamental rights violation application, a group of GCE A/L students, who sat under the old syllabus complained to the Court that subsequent to the Supreme Court judgment of June 29, 2012, the UGC had re-calculated the Z-Scores, taking the two syllabi separately. After the recalculation of the Z-scores some of the old syllabus students who earlier qualified to enter universities had been left out, the petition said.

Counsels Sanjeewa Jayawardene and Saliya Pieris, who appeared for the petitioner students, took up the position that the Z-score of old syllabus and new syllabus students should not be ranked together to pick the new entrants. The judgement had clearly indicated to treat the two syllabi as separate populations.

The Supreme Court granted leave to proceed with the fundamental rights violation of the old syllabus students. The next date of mention will be August 30, 2012.

Attorney General Palitha Fernando told the Court that he would look into the possibility of a settlement, and making amends.

Faiz Mustapa PC, said that the UGC would withhold admissions till the matter was finalised. He appeared with Kushan de Alwis, Kaushalya Nawaratne and Mrs. Faizer Marker for the UGC.

Sanjeewa Jayewardene appeared with Niranjan Arulpragasam for a group of petitioner students.

The Attorney General, Palitha Fernando PC, appeared with Senior State Counsel, Nevin Pulle, for the Commissioner General of Examinations and the Minister of Education.

The Bench comprised Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake, Justice K. Sripavan and Justice S.I. Imam.

FUTA awaits phone call from Basil

August 6, 2012, 10:14 pm

by Dasun Edirisinghe, the island

 Striking university teachers are awaiting Minister Basil Rajapaksa’s call for the next meeting as a sequel to last Wednesday’s discussion.

FUTA President Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Devasiri told The Island that at the end of the discussion they had agreed to meet shortly.

He said that the FUTA members had met Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe on the invitation of the UNP in Parliament yesterday.

"Not only us, but also all trade union members of the education sector participated at the meeting which discussed issues related to the entire education sector," Dr. Devasiri said.

The senior academic said that the labour commissioner, too, had summoned a meeting last Thursday.

The FUTA demands that six per cent of the GDP be allocated to the education sector, they be consulted when taking decisions on the higher education system and their salaries be increased substantially.

Dr. Devasiri said that they would not stop the strike until all their demands were met.

When contacted by The Island for comment, Secretary to the Higher Education Ministry Dr. Sunil Jayantha Navaratne said the discussions would be continued.

He said that the issue was now being handled by the Presidential Secretariat.

Non-academics renew their strike threat

August 6, 2012, 9:55 pm

by Dasun Edirisinghe, the island

University non-academic staff yesterday once again threatened to launch an all out strike, if the government did not meet their demands before August 10.

Spokesman for the Inter University Trade Union Joint Committee Wijayathilake Jayasinghe told The Island that when they struck, from June 06 to 26, the government promised to rectify their salary anomalies before August 10.

"We called off the strike on that assurance, but the government has still to issue the necessary circulars," he said.

Jayasinghe said that the circulars in this regard should be issued by the National Salaries and Cadre Commission in association with the Higher Education Ministry.

He said there was a need to rectify the anomalies in their salaries from 2007, but the successive governments cheated them by always making promises that the anomalies would be corrected but they never did it.

Secretary to the Higher Education Ministry Dr. Sunil Jayantha Navaratne said they would look into the demands of the university non-academic staff.

 

FUTA vows to carry on with strike

August 5, 2012, 9:54 pm

by Dasun Edirisinghe, the island

The Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) yesterday said that it would continue its strike.

FUTA President Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Devasiri told The Island that the strikers would continue their talks with Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa.

University teachers demand that 6 per cent of the GDP be allocated to the education sector, they be consulted when taking decisions on the higher education system and their salaries be increased substantially.

"We discussed our demands with Minister Rajapaksa last Wednesday,"the FUTAsaid.

Dr. Devasiri said that their protests and awareness campaigns would be continued at university level as the government had failed to meet university teachers’ demands.

He claimed that a section of the media was publishing wrong reports on their demands.

Secretary to the Higher Education Ministry Dr. Sunil Jayantha Navaratne said that the ministry always accommodated reasonable requests of university teachers but they wanted to have their problems solved by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The Presidential Secretary declined to hold the third round of discussions as FUTA objected to the appointment of a presidential commission to solve the issue.

What ails our universities

August 5, 2012, 8:10 pm , the island


Universities in Sri Lanka are very much in the news these days. Here are a few comments on what is happening in the areas of examinations, awarding of classes, favouritism, corruption and gross violation of human rights that most of the academic staff indulge in, resulting in many brilliant scholars leaving Sri Lanka for academic positions in other countries. It is not a secret that most of these teachers are unfair and vindictive towards students who they think would pose a threat to them if they obtain excellent results. This system has been in operation for many, many years and everyone knows how it works. When one goes to a foreign country such as USA, Canada or Australia one comes across students who have passed out from these universities. They begin talking of their experiences and the shameful manner in which most of them have been victimized by the so-called intelligentsia of our own country is indeed amazing. Not surprisingly these young people know the university dons who are really good at this game.

Those who pretend to be paragons of virtue are also in the same gang. Their victims simply vote with their feet, unable to fight back among numerous malpractices that these dons resort to, here is just one. At the final examinations the answer scripts are marked by a lecturer and the rule is for the scripts to be reviewed by a second examiner from a reputed overseas University. However, in the Science Faculty of a university papers are handed over to the department head who places his signature on the marks/ score sheet and never even glances at the scripts. The interesting fact is that this department head has no inkling of the branch of study yet claims a fee for every sheet that he has ‘marked’ as the second examiner. One notorious don gives marks even without marking the script. How ingenious!

I see two glaring flaws in the system prevailing in our SL universities – as against those in the USA and Canada, namely:

1. There is no evaluation of teachers by students, peer group as well as by higher authorities. Thus a lecturer who joins the staff remains there regardless of the quality of teaching imparted to the students. In USA and in Canada – two countries where I am reasonably qualified to talk about, university teachers are evaluated at regular intervals and awarded tenure only if they reach a certain level of proficiency and erudition. I know so many Sri Lankan dons who have not done any worthwhile teaching nor research but ‘existed’ coolly and comfortably in these places to the end of their days. A tenure system should be introduced to weed out the bad eggs.

2. There is no provision for re-scrutiny of answer scripts after examinations, a provision that is available for GCE OL and GCE AL students for payment of a fee. None are infallible – there could be errors in marking; even in addition of marks. It is a violation of human rights not to permit this facility when it is available for school students. This leads to much corruption and malpractices. Who can say that grades are not changed to give undue advantage to some and even lowered for others who are not favourites? Or even awarding grades without marking scripts at all? Who is there to challenge these malpractices? University dons should demonstrate integrity and honesty, be above blame in all their actions.

I hope that the facts mentioned here will serve as constructive ideas to introduce a system of reform in examinations procedure in Sri Lankan universities.

Srima Warusawithana

Canada