University dons to stage token strike on June 03

May 14, 2014, 11:03 pm , The Island

by Dasun Edirisinghe

University teachers are scheduled to stage a token strike on June 03 against the Higher Education Ministry’s failure to provide solutions to their problems based on the agreement they entered into with the ministry in 2012 and the suppression of students.

Executive Committee member of the Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri told The Island that the ministry had offered to grant them a research allowance as a solution to salary increments, but it was audited.

"If the research allowance is part of the salary how can it be audited?," he asked.

Dr. Dewasiri said that they had raised the issue at a meeting with officials of the Higher Education Ministry and University Grants Commission (UGC), where it was agreed that the research allowance should not be audited, but that promise had not been honoured.

The senior academic said at several universities like Sri Jayewardenepura and Rajarata were harassing students and the FUTA demanded an end to such undemocratic action.

Several undergraduates had been suspended without proper inquiries or valid reasons, Dr. Dewasiri said, adding that undergraduates had launched protests.

"We will inform of our token strike to the ministry shortly and the letter has already been drafted", he said.

FUTA PRESS RELEASE CRISIS WITH REGARD TO ALLIED HEALTH SCIENCE DEGREES

The situation with students following the Allied Health Science Degree is extremely serious with students from the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences (FAHS) in Peradeniya engaged in continuous protests for several months. Various viewpoints have been raised in this regard and FUTA takes this opportunity to present their perspective on this very serious issue.

Allied health care services are an integral part of health care all over the world. Sri Lanka lacked recognized and professional training opportunities in this sector and allied health and nursing degree programmes were started in the state universities of Sri Lanka in the year 2006, as a response to a request made by the Ministry of Health to fill this gap. The process for starting such degrees followed recognized university protocols and quality guidelines. Accordingly, 4-year degree programmes in allied health sciences and nursing were started, affiliated to the Medical Faculties at Peradeniya, Sri Jayawardenapura, Colombo, Ruhuna, Jaffna and Eastern Universities. In response to certain issues that developed at the University of Peradeniya (UoP) it was agreed to establish a separate Faculty of Allied Health Sciences (FAHS) on 16.01.2007 at the UoP. Unfortunately, this potentially progressive move faced a setback when FAHS students were denied clinical training at the teaching hospitals in Kandy and Peradeniya. In response to a case filed at the Supreme Court by the UoP in an attempt to resolve this issue, the Supreme Court (SC application No 119/2008) made the following ruling: 

• No future intake of students for Allied Health Sciences degrees for Allied Health Science Faculty without consulting all parties concerned. 
•  Clinical training for the first three batches of FAHS/Peradeniya students should be provided at the Kurunegala hospital.

After more discussions with all parties, UGC at its 801st meeting held on 07.04.2010 decided to reduce the duration of all AHS degree programmes from 4 years to 3 years with effect from the 5th intake (2009/2010 batch) of students. It was further decided to offer a three year general degree and then allow only the students who fulfill the requirements to study a further year to obtain a “special” degree (3+1 system). Almost 10 months later, at its 819th meeting held on 06.01.2011 the UGC decided that the basic requirement to enter the 4th year as a GPA of 2.8 at the end of the 3rd academic year. Unfortunately, these decisions were taken in an attempt to diffuse the situation rather than in the interests of ensuring the quality and relevance of the degree programme. The proposed arrangements also did not satisfy students who raised several valid concerns regarding the 3 year degree:

1. Time/ Credits allocated for several subject areas had to be reduced. Reduction of time allocated to clinical training is a crucial problem especially in Physiotherapy, Nursing and Radiography degree programmes.
2. Some important sections such as a research project had to be removed
3. Problems regarding international accreditation: in most other countries the basic requirement in the   Allied Health fields is a 4 year degree worth 120 credits. The 3 year degree currently offered in Sri Lanka is not comparable placing our graduates at a disadvantage globally.
4. Most postgraduate programmes including in Sri Lanka require 4 years of undergraduate study. The current 3 year programme will therefore restrict postgraduate training opportunities which will in turn affect the development of the allied health sector.
5. In some fields such as nursing, normal duration of diploma courses is also 3 years. Therefore, an
   undergraduate degree of the same duration would be meaningless. 

It should be noted that the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) and the UGC have clearly stated (even at the parliament) that they are in favour of 4-year AHS degrees. Therefore it is unclear why this current crisis cannot be resolved.

FUTA strongly urges the MoHE and the UGC to urgently resolve this issue. FUTA is of the view that the 4 year degree should be permitted. University Senates should be allowed to act independently and without interference on academic matters. The MoHE and the UGC should mediate with the relevant parties to ensure that the students concerns are adequately addressed. It is unclear why this issue has been allowed been allowed to continue for so long without resolution when the main parties involved (MoHE, UGC and university academics) are basically in agreement about how to resolve this issue. FUTA also urges the MoHE to ensure that a parliamentary committee is convened to resolve this issue permanently as proposed recently in parliament. It is unacceptable that the authorities are turning a blind eye to the serious consequences of this crisis on the lives of current and future students.

……………………. …………………….
Mr. Chandraguptha Thenuwara      Prof. Rohan Fernando
President/FUTA                             Secretary/FUTA

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