PB blames Govt., dons and student leaders for crisis
October 10, 2012, 10:06 pm , The Island
Dr. Jayasundera addressing the gatering
(Pic by Dhammika Salwathura)
(Pic by Dhammika Salwathura)
Treasury
Secretary Dr. P. B. Jayasundera yesterday (10) blamed the government,
Vice Chancellors and student leaders of the country’s universities for
the recent fiasco which saw the higher education system come to a
virtual standstill for three months.
The
Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) engaged in a
prolonged strike over pay disputes which later turned into a battle for
more resources to the country’s troubled education sector.
"I
blame the government, Vice Chancellors of our universities and student
leaders for not acting responsibly which started something which could
have easily been avoided," Dr. Jayasundera said delivering the 9th
Annual Sujata Jayawardena Memorial Oration at the Sri Lanka Foundation
Institute last evening.
"After everyone
decided enough was enough I issued a letter to the FUTA and though it
is not taken seriously the letter contains substance and conveys the
commitment of the government over the medium term. I have not included
any numbers in the letter except for the date because I still have not
learnt to write the date with letters. The letter contains the vision of
the government and the aspiration of our children that they could
become citizens contributing to the economic activities of this
country, and, most importantly, become responsible citizens," the top
bureaucrat said.
"I hope everyone will return
to work (at the universities) and I also hope the need for
reconciliation would not be necessary," Dr. Jayasundera said adding
that it was everyone’s responsibility to uplift the university system.
He
praised the late Ms. Sujata Jayawardena for mobilising well wishers to
construct a 500 room hostel for female students at the Colombo
University.
"We have 17 universities around the
country and some of them do not even have facilities of a high ranking
school. Some of these universities operate in an environment which is
not of a university. By following Ms. Jayawardena’s example,
universities can learn to mobilise well wishers to improve conditions
at rural faraway universities without having to depend on the
government. This will help universities become autonomous and help
students be free," Dr. Jayasudera said.
He
said Sri Lanka was going through a period when people were talking
about rich lists. He said there was an environment where people were
making money overnight with very little effort (at the stock exchange
perhaps). These people do not pay taxes and I am not going to tell them
to pay taxes. But these people can silently contribute towards
uplifting our universities," he said.
