DailymirrorFriday, October 21, 2011
IUSF condemns military shramadana in universities
Dailymirror
The Inter University Students Union (IUSF) condemns the military shramadana underway at universities islandwide, the IUSF spokesperson Sanjeewa Bandara said today.
“First it was the military training, then they sent ex-military men as security to the universities and now they are getting the military to organise shramadana,” Mr. Bandara said.
According to him the military is trying to play a huge role within the universities to crackdown on student dissent.
“The first year students have received letters making it compulsory for them to take part in the shramadana like they were forced to undergo the military training,” Mr. Bandara said.
He said the government was using the military to interfere and sideline student movements by engaging the freshers in workshops and shramadana activity. “This is happening at the Ruhunu University and the lecturers and students together held a joint protest against it,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Rathna Lanka Security Firm that comes under the Secretary of Defence took over the security of the University of Ruhuna and they will be paid Rs.70 million annually when the lowest tender bid was Rs.20 million, Mr. Bandara said.
“We could have used the Rs.50 million if we didn’t assign Rathna Lanka as the chosen security firm if we had stuck by the tender,” Mr. Bandara said. The freedom at the universities island-wide has come under severe threat by the ruling few and there is a greater threat to society, he said. (Sumaiya Rizvi)
The Inter University Students Union (IUSF) condemns the military shramadana underway at universities islandwide, the IUSF spokesperson Sanjeewa Bandara said today.
“First it was the military training, then they sent ex-military men as security to the universities and now they are getting the military to organise shramadana,” Mr. Bandara said.
According to him the military is trying to play a huge role within the universities to crackdown on student dissent.
“The first year students have received letters making it compulsory for them to take part in the shramadana like they were forced to undergo the military training,” Mr. Bandara said.
He said the government was using the military to interfere and sideline student movements by engaging the freshers in workshops and shramadana activity. “This is happening at the Ruhunu University and the lecturers and students together held a joint protest against it,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Rathna Lanka Security Firm that comes under the Secretary of Defence took over the security of the University of Ruhuna and they will be paid Rs.70 million annually when the lowest tender bid was Rs.20 million, Mr. Bandara said.
“We could have used the Rs.50 million if we didn’t assign Rathna Lanka as the chosen security firm if we had stuck by the tender,” Mr. Bandara said. The freedom at the universities island-wide has come under severe threat by the ruling few and there is a greater threat to society, he said. (Sumaiya Rizvi)
UGC plans to increase state university intake
October 20, 2011, 10:20 pmby Dasun Edirisinghe
The University Grants Commission is planning to increase the intake to all Sri Lankan universities up to 20% by 2016, UGC Chairman Prof. Gamini Samaranayake said.
He told The Island that the current enrolment rate was 15% - 16% of those students between 18 and 24 years old involved in full time tertiary education compared with the population and 22,500 students would be admitted to local universities for next academic year.
"This year, 54,000 students applied for university entrance, but we could accommodate only 22,500", Prof. Samaranayake said.
He said they would first develop the quality of the university system especially of the three universities of the Northern and Eastern Provinces.
The universities in the war affected two provinces could not serve to their full potential during last three decades, but now the UGC was focusing to develop them and enroll more students. The government universities alone could not meet the demand for higher education, the UGC Chairman said.
"According to the UGC Act, we granted permission to award degrees to nine private institutions so far," Prof. Samaranayake said adding over ten other requests were pending approval. They would approve them only after fulfilling the necessary standards.
According to statistics, the number of students who pass the G. C. E. (A/L) examination had been increasing year by year, that they have to create more higher education opportunities for them.
Commissioner General of Examinations Anura Edirisinghe said that 237,000 students sat for the G. C. E. (A/L) 2010 and of them 130,000 students passed the examination. Prof. Samaranayake said.
This year the amount of students who sat the examination increased by 57,000 to 294,000, he said.
adding that their results are pending.
Employment for vulnerable people
October 20, 2011, 10:11 pmBy Maheesha Mudugamuwa
The national strategy on tertiary and vocational education and training (TVET) provision for vulnerable people in Sri Lanka will provide enhanced opportunities for the employment of such groups. The new steps taken will provide better access to quality training, said ILO Sri Lanka.
The National Consultation on Skills Development for Vulnerable Group in 2008 identified six groups as vulnerable groups which needed instant attention to find awareness of vocational training.
The identified groups are disadvantaged women especially those heading households, people with disabilities(mental and physical), disadvantaged youth including school dropouts and former child labourers, poor including people in plantation areas, rural and urban poor, persons affected by conflict including internally displaced persons, ex- combatants and migrant workers.
GMOA to take up enrolment of ‘students without qualifications’
Malabe PMC:
October 20, 2011, 9:50 pmBy Dilanthi Jayamanne
The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) says it will complain to the Ministry of Higher Education about the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SITM) better known as the Malabe Private Medical College (MPMC) enrolling students without required qualifications to follow medicine.
GMOA Assistant Secretary, Dr. Upul Gunasekara said yesterday that students were being enrolled for medical degree programme with only three simple passes at their GCE (Advanced Level) examination.
He said that according to the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) guidelines, students enrolled for medical education should have a minimum of two credits and one Simple pass. The enrolment of students without the stipulated qualifications would only serve to ruin the reputation of Sri Lankan medical colleges. That would be a blow to government efforts to make Sri Lanka the Knowledge Hub of Asia. Foreign students would have a poor opinion of local medical faculties.
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