Dons asked to justify their clamour for more

June 29, 2012, 9:08 pm , the island

The Higher Education Ministry Secretary in a letter addressed to academic staff members of all universities yesterday said that the latter’s struggle for salary increases did not have the element of social justice, as during the last two years, the salaries of academic staff members had been increased by an average of 66 percent.

Education Secretary Dr Sunil Jayantha Navaratne says in his letter: "I request you to ask yourself how you could justify your demand for another salary hike so soon. During the years 2011 and 2012 a salary of a senior professor increased by 73.88 percent while a professor’s salary had been increased by 69.73 percent. Salaries of a senior lecturer and a lecturer had been increased by 61.13% and 53.39%. Generally all the salaries of academic staff members have been increased by an average of 66%.

"In addition the payments for preparing question papers of university students have been increased by 400 percent this year. The payment for evaluating question papers of internal students by university teachers too had been increased by 400% and those of post graduate students by 150 percent. The payment for conducting visiting lectures also had been increased 200 percent.

"The government has also increased the credit limit of loans provided to university teachers and these loans are provided at a very lower interest rate. The government had doubled the budgetary allocations for the higher education sector in the last five years, the letter says.

"Therefore, I request you not to fall praay to those in the academic community who are acting on hidden agendas to further their personal interests. It seems that the main objective of these rabble rousers is to lead the country towards anarchy and to weaken institutional capacity of the country’s university system. Taking into consideration the increases of salaries made in the last two years, I request you to consider how you could reason out to the society the social justice element in the ongoing struggle for more increments," the letter addressed to all academic members through the Vice Chancellors of universities said."