At last a civilized  debate on free education  (at least, until SB opens his mouth) By Namini Wijedasa, Lakbima News Like any other trade union action, the strike by university lecturers will have to end in the coming weeks. It is only a question of time, and of an appropriate exit strategy. Several ministers have already indicated that a draft agreement is ready for signing between the Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) and the state. It is expected to define the government’s commitments in response to the many demands put forward by FUTA. “It has been finalized,” said Economic Development minister Basil Rajapaksa, who is leading negotiations with FUTA after their talks with Higher Education minister S.B. Dissanayake broke down. Relations between the academics and Dissanayake are acrimonious. “The Higher Education and Education ministers have approved the draft that we agreed on,” Rajapaksa said. “Now we need approval from other quarters, including from Treasury secretary P.B. Jayasundere. This strike will definitely be settled.” ‘Not just a university issue’ Despite this assurance – which will be welcomed by students whose lectures, exam dates and graduation dates have been badly affected – a large number of trade unions joined up on Thursday for a rally supporting higher government investment in the education sector. Marching in procession to Hyde Park were members of clergy, university lecturers from around the country, industrial workers, school teachers and principals, non academic university staff, medical workers, journalists, free trade zone employees, lawyers, women’s groups, posts, telecommunication and railway workers, food, beverages and tobacco industries staff, electricity workers, transport service workers, some state sector employees and unemployed graduates. The procession and ensuing public meeting were peaceful. Although some attendees claimed to have seen a contingent of riot police around Hyde Park, they were not in evidence when this reporter attended the rally. There was no water cannon, no military, and police presence was minimal. Mahim Mendis, FUTA spokesman, said they had advised students to keep away from the march. “We did not want them to participate in the procession because any provocative action by the government would have led to a massive crisis,” he said. Mendis said students were furious the universities were indefinitely shut down by the minister last week. However, students are also divided over the academics’ strike which has been going on for nearly two months. Hyde Park was not brimming over with people but it was clear that FUTA had put on a respectable show. Many lecturers wore orange or black t-shirts with the words ‘6% Save Education’ and ‘6% GDP for Education.’ On the stage, speaker after speaker stressed on the importance of saving, enhancing and protecting free education which everyone agreed was in deep crisis. There was little or no party politics although the government was criticized over wastage and corruption. Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera was among several Buddhist prelates at the rally. The influential and widely respected prelate who heads the National Movement for Social Justice urged all members of the public to join their campaign. This was not just a “university issue,” he said. It was a fight to safeguard free education. The rain pelted down as he spoke; an aide held up an umbrella. All around them, people got drenched. Many huddled futilely under umbrellas, sometimes three persons to each. But they did not leave. And once the rain stopped, proceedings went on smoothly as before. ‘Don't mess’ An old couple in a blue three-wheeler attracted a lot of attention. They had hung a placard on the side of the vehicle that read: “Don’t mess with our granddaughter’s right to free education.” The woman said she was 80 while her husband was “83, not out.” She had been a nurse for 34 years while his background was in banking. Neither of them wanted to be named. “Poor people have lot of difficulties educating their children,” the woman explained. “I saw in the papers that when the president goes abroad he takes 58 people with him. Where do they find the money for that? That money should go to education. Can’t they give up some of their spending to buy books for children?” Mendis said the government has committed in principle to spend 6% of GDP on education, something that evolved into one of FUTA’s main demands. “But we want a very clear commitment in writing about how they will do this in this year’s budget, in next year’s budget and thereafter,” he stressed. “The government is notorious for making unfulfilled promises to students.” Regardless of how the FUTA strike ends, there is  no argument that it has spurned a lively debate about the future of free education in Sri Lanka. And the subject is being examined  for the most part (at least when Minister Dissanayake does not open his mouth) in a civilized and productive manner.

 

Cartoon, Lakbima News

Won’t these lecturers learn a lesson from politicos?

5th Column

the SUNDAY TIMES

My Dear SB,

I thought I must write to you to congratulate you on your latest achievement in ordering the closure of all universities in the country. With this decision, you will take us a step closer to becoming the ‘knowledge hub’ of Asia!

I know that many people are opposed to closing the universities, SB, but I think you took a brave decision that most of your cabinet colleagues would not have taken. In fact, it would be like Bandula cancelling the Advanced Level examination because of the ‘Z-score’ fiasco!

In fact, SB, I feel sorry for you because you seem to be at the centre of this controversy through no fault of your own. Bandula’s officials messed up the ‘Z’ score and you have been taken to task for that but Bandula is an old friend of yours, and I’m sure you wouldn’t mind the extra publicity!

And of course, we know what to expect from you. You are someone who spoke your mind even about decisions of the Supreme Court. So, if a bunch of university lecturers believe that they can beat you at this game, they must be sadly mistaken.

I am told that most of the problems in the universities these days are because these lecturers are demanding higher salaries. Now, at a time when Mahinda maama is doing his utmost to pay for contaminated diesel, election campaigns and international cricket tournaments, that is not fair, is it?

And it is good that you shut down all the universities because, judging by what we see on television, these university lecturers seem to be spending most of their time either holding news conferences or leading protest marches, instead of teaching at their universities.

So, even if the careers of thousands of undergraduates get delayed by a few months or even years, it would be good to shut down the universities for a while. At the very least, it would save us some electricity that Champika could put to good use to reduce the number of hours of the power cuts.

The lecturers are also asking that six per cent of government money be spent on education. Now, SB, you must tell them to mind their own business. How can you give them that kind of money when we have to bid for the Commonwealth Games, run Mihin Air and spend money on hedging deals?

These university lecturers, I am told, are also fond of saying that they are the best minds in the country and that therefore they should be paid better. They often point out that even a pradeshiya sabha manthree gets a higher salary and more privileges but I think that is not a valid argument.

Surely, becoming a pradeshiya sabha manthree is more difficult than becoming a university lecturer. It is true that you have to study hard, pass through numerous obstacles like the ‘Z’ score, then study some more at university to become a university lecturer.

But what most people don’t realise is that the preparation to become a pradeshiya sabha manthree is even harder. Why, you have to grease the palms of party officials, spend millions of rupees on campaigning and then fight with your colleagues for the manaapey to get elected.

So, SB, I agree with you when the government says that university lecturers don’t deserve the salary increase they are demanding when all they have to do is study hard and get through a few exams — and even that is made easier when free marks are given because of errors in the question papers.

In fact, I would suggest, SB, that politicians should get a salary increase instead. Why, just a few years after getting elected — and when you are still trying to recover all the money you spent in trying to get elected — you have to go through it all over again at the next elections!

You don’t have to worry about such issues, SB. I am sure your re-election is assured even at the next elections, whenever that may be. That is because the wisest decision you made in your political career was to abandon the Greens and return to the Blues, where you are content to keep a low profile.

In a way, it is best that you left the Blues and returned because had you stayed with them, I am sure you would have fought with Mahinda maama to become Satellite’s successor. And if that happened, by now you would be either in jail or a senior minister — I am not sure which is better.

I think that Mahinda maama has taken a wise decision to put you, a former student union leader, in charge of higher education, Bandula, a former tuition master, in charge of education and Grero, the owner of an international school to ‘monitor’ education. At last, education is on the right track.

So, I wish you the best of luck in your dealings with the university lecturers, SB, although you wouldn’t need a lot of it. That is because you can count on Bandula to create a bigger impact sooner or later — and whatever you do will be insignificant compared to that!

Yours truly,
Punchi Putha

PS: It is indeed a pity that you are not the sports minister now. If you were, maybe we could have won another medal at the Olympics this year. Why, You-know-who would still be running and if you were still the minister, she would be running even harder and we could have even won the gold medal!

Playing Bandu with our education

By Chandani Kirinde, Our Lobby Correspondent , the SUNDAY TIMES

State education sector in a tailspin as ministering angels’ blame game goes to ridiculous extremes

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Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena’s contention in Parliament last week was that, neither he nor Higher Education Minister S.B. Dissanayaka should be blamed for the problems that have engulfed the country’s state education sector in the past few months.

Instead, he chose to shift the blame on officials and experts within the education sector, for the recent muddle ranging from the Z-score calculation issue to faulty question papers given to Advanced Level (A/L) students. While it goes without saying that a minister depends heavily on officials to steer the activities of the ministries that come under their purview, in the right direction, they can in no way wash their hands of all responsibility for the mess-up in both the secondary and higher education sectors.
Minister Gunwardena’s attempt to justify the errors that were in the A/L examination papers, by saying such errors took place even in papers set for Cambridge exams in the UK, and that the number of errors was negligible percentage-wise, was also disheartening.
The Education Minister’s comments in Parliament came in response to several queries raised by JVP Parliamentary Group Leader MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake who asked why there was such a high incidence of errors in A/L question papers, and what action would be taken to ensure that the forthcoming Z-score marks for this year’s examination would be calculated accurately. Instead of answers, what Minister Gunawardena did was read from numerous paper cuttings, to show that even in Sri Lanka, under previous education ministers too, similar problems had cropped up, and that the present uproar against him was an attempt to discredit him and the Government.
His equally embattled Cabinet counterpart, Higher Education Minister S.B. Dissanayaka too had to face questions from the Opposition, about his decision to close higher education institutions, with the Minister defending his decision, saying that it was necessary in the wake of the ongoing strike by the university academic staff. He dismissed claims by UNP Kurunegala District MP Dayasiri Jayasekera that the Minister had no authority to close these institutions.
However, the Minister said he had used the powers vested in him under the Universities Act of 1978, after consulting the relevant authorities, to close these institutes until further notice. Only the Medical faculties in the relevant universities remain open.
For now, both education ministers have stuck stubbornly to their positions, instead of trying to address the various issues that have come up, in an atmosphere of cordiality. For now, it’s likely that, the woes of the education sector as a whole will continue, unless the problems are dealt with the seriousness and urgency they deserve.

Higher Education Minister S.B. Dissanayaka

Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena

Other than the education sector crisis, the Government has had to deal with questions on the slow progress in the implementation of the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC).
External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris had to once again respond to questions raised by the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), by way of an adjournment motion in Parliament, on the measures taken to implement the recommendations of the LLRC.
“We are legitimately proud of our achievements during the last three years. In other countries, it has taken over a decade for normalcy to return after the end of a protracted war,” he said.
The Minister said that Mr. Sampanthan, in his speech, had dwelled exclusively on the past, and such a tactic was not constructive to achieving long term peace.
TNA Parliamentary group leader R. Sampanthan who moved the motion, said that the National Plan of Action to implement the recommendations of the LLRC, had not been formulated after due consultation with Parliament or the democratically elected representatives of the affected people.
He also brought up the issue of accountability, saying it is one issue that will not go away until there is honourable peace. “We don’t seek confrontation, but at the same time, this cannot be swept under the carpet and forgotten about. There has to be honourable peace for genuine reconciliation,” he said.
Leader of the House, Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva, who wound up the debate on behalf of the Government, blamed non-cooperation on the part of the TNA for the delay in finding a solution to the country’s national problem.
“Had the TNA named members to the Parliamentary Select Committee that has been mooted by the Government to find a solution to the national issue, proposals would have been finalised by now,” he said.

FUTA Will Courageously Defend The Rights Of The People

By Dr. Mahim Mendis, The Sunday Leader

The members of the Federation of University Teachers’ Association (FUTA) appeal to the people to express solidarity with their national level trade union struggle demanding for 6% of the GDP on education since we need to protect state education and also collectively provide vital checks and balances to the process of governance in Sri Lanka. Academics need to ensure that public policy formulation in all sectors, not just education, will be influenced by them with their strong academic credentials. Also academics together with the clergy and other civil and political society leaders have a strong mandate to enlighten the people on all matters.

This we did convincingly through our historic public meeting at Hyde Park on 23rd August 2012, with eminent members of the trade union movement like Bala Tampoe and Most Venerable Madhuluwawe Sobhitha Thero addressing the people. FUTA watchers including those of the NIB know quite well about our capacity to mobilize people with short notice whether it be in Colombo, Rajarata, Jaffna or in Ruhuna. They also know that we cannot be silenced since top FUTA leaders are well known to millions of people here and abroad.

We of the FUTA believe that the onus is equally on the citizenry to hold their governments responsible for irresponsible utterances and actions of ministers and public officials. Ironically, it has now come to a stage where the people need to plead with those whom they elected that they be responsible as their humble servants. In Sri Lanka, the ‘Servants’ have become the ‘Masters’ and such a topsy-turvy situation needs to be reversed today and not tomorrow.

As stated by Bernard Shaw, “the people get the government they deserve”, and we know that the people do not deserve a political regime with a near total absence of democratic accountability whether it be on elections, rule of law and administration of justice, ethno-political crisis and the LLRC Recommendations, Human Rights, Petroleum, Power and Energy, Public Health or Education. On all these frontiers, international benchmarks have totally collapsed and you cannot be silent any more. No amount of Presidential Commissions will solve these problems either!!!

The academics of Sri Lanka have watched with extreme patience as to how the politicians as servants of the people behave by shamelessly prostituting the will of the people, crossing over from one side to another, proving abundantly to their masters, the people, that they do not care a damn for what the people think. They probably believe that they are sure of winning elections even by taking into custody the chief presidential candidate before the first proper electoral results are released. They also believe that current cabinet ministers should tie people to trees to discipline them as done by eminent Dr Mervyn De Silva, a topmost minister with international credentials.

The FUTA has proved to the people that Sri Lankan academics are not a docile community and will not allow this country to perish in broad daylight. We can only appeal to the President, in the way we would appeal to any leader in the future to be careful of those in government ranks who do not even respect the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka.

To get back to the ongoing struggle of the FUTA, all what I need to state with an absolute seriousness of purpose is that we consider it our bounden duty towards the people of Sri Lanka to commit the government to the UN benchmarks on education. The Minister of Higher Education probably believes that we are now a part of an international conspiracy to display this benchmark of ‘6% of GDP on FUTA T-Shirts!!!’ Such is the level of thinking of these ministers at the helm, bringing shame to the President habitually and on a daily basis. After all it is not so long ago that they protested against the United Nations Organization with cabinet ministers fasting unto death in the UN compound, making the people of this country, an international laughing stock.

The FUTA struggle demonstra-tes that academics cannot be satisfied with 99% literacy at primary level of education, that Minister Bandula Gunawardene boasts abo-ut, and that too with half of the schools without proper lavatory facilities. We need to remind the President and the Cabinet of Ministers, that mere primary level literacy is absolutely inadequate to civilize the people, including those who wish to be politicians and academics.

Primary level literacy is mere ability to read and write letters and numbers,without putting the ‘thumb mark’ as a person’signature. Secondary level literacy is the ability to reproduce knowledge which has only reached a little more than half of the population. But academics are concerned about what would happen to this beautiful land of their birth if tertiary level literacy remains so low with approximately 15%. That number comes only when university education is combined with technical and vocational education, as pointed out by many. University education is university education and we look to the day the vast majority of people will graduate from universities, to indicate that we have a rational citizenry with independent thinking. Not Traitors and Patriots.

With primary level literacy we cannot prevent elected members from prostituting the will of the people either. Also, 90% literacy at primary level is not the achievement of the present regime and this was there when the minister himself was a student.

All what his ministry has done is to close down the schools that existed many years ago and mess up the entire education system including the examinations as seen in Z-Score Fiasco. This same minister claimed in Parliament this month that we are still better than the British Education System with regard to examination evaluations. So how can the Z-Score be a problem to this government?

Tertiary level literacy which is University Degree Level and above, enables a person to critically understand a message that is disseminated and provide an intellectual perspective of ones own.

It is for this that the country should be able to attract the best qualified men and women to serve the universities; a task that has become humanly impossible without internationally competitive salaries for those with top academic credentials. This is a demand that we made last year. In accepting an Interim Solution in July 2011, we only wanted the government to respect the recommendations on salaries made by their own Malik Ranasinghe and Jiffrey Committee in 2008. So, it is meaningless telling the people that we have been given 80% increase in salaries since their own benchmark is yet to be implemented while interim understandings have been blatantly disregarded.

This waste of time will further aggravate Brain Drain, leading to a total collapse of the educational and moral oder. Highways and harbours or no amount of economic development will make a country developed if the people remain ignorant and in chains. The work of Indian Nobel Laureate and Harvard Economist Amartya Sen should be read by those in government if economists in Sri Lanka are not taken seriously by this government.

It is not surprising that the political leadership at different levels cannot distinguish the difference between good and evil, with an ‘anything goes’ attitude.

In this country, those alleged to have committed multiple murders are allowed to go free, if they say they have forgotten all what happened, since those in government probably have no understanding of good and evil. If we point out what is evil, we would be treated as traitors in line with the dominant ideology.

The government should realize that there is no international conspiracy when we talk about our principal demand which is the UNESCO Benchmark of 6% of the GDP on education.

Also they should realize that if international benchmarks created by the United Nations are made a mockery, not only with regard to education, but also with regard to fundamental instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we certainly would mobilize all local, international and even extra-terrestrial forces to safeguard the future of this country. This is because, for academics the future direction of the Sri Lankan state is more important than the future of the present government or a future government.

Let all people unite in meeting the demands of the academic community, not only with regard to education but also in creating a just social, political, economic, cultural and moral order as stated clearly by the courageous monk, Venerable Madhuluwawe Sobhitha Thero in addressing thousands of people in pouring rain at Hyde Park Rally.

* Undergraduates in Sri Lanka threaten legal action against striking university lecturers

Fri, Aug 24, 2012, 11:06 am SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.

Aug 24, Colombo: A group of undergraduates in Sri Lanka have threatened to take legal action against the striking university lecturers.
The undergraduates of the University Independent Conversion Movement (UICM) claim that the Federation of University Teachers' Association (FUTA) is responsible for the closure of universities and their trade union action is politically motivated.
Convener of the movement, Yukthi Ekadeera noted that the university lecturers' strike that began on July 04 has continued for over 50 days and the closure of universities has prevented students engaged in projects and independent studies to continue.
He added that the students don't have any access to the university facilities.
The government Wednesday ordered to close all the universities except the medical faculties in the country until further notice.
However, he noted that the students wanted the lecturers to receive a decent salary, but did not agree the manner in which they are trying to win their demands.
According to Ekadheera, legal action would be taken against the lecturers by undergraduates if universities are not reopened by next week.

Editorial

 

 

Dons punching above their weight

August 24, 2012, 7:55 pm , The Island

Thousands of striking university teachers, accompanied by their well-wishers, trade unionists and Opposition activists, thronged the streets of Colombo on Thursday, braving as they did inclement weather to pressure the government to be amenable to their demands. They held a highly successful rally at Hyde Park and dispersed peacefully. Their message has been loud and clear: the strike will continue until their demands are met!

The Federation of University Teachers' Associations (FUTA) is punching above its weight. It has effectively silenced its critics who underestimated its strength and doubted its ability to hold a successful public rally. Emboldened by Thursday's show of strength, the striking dons may now seek to negotiate with the government from a position of strength.

Pro-government propagandists are peddling an argument that university lecturers should not take to the streets to win their demands. True, ideally, they should not. We do not think they enjoy what they are doing. Who wants to get drenched to the skin in thunderstorms or keep standing in the scorching sun? They would have been more than happy to remain indoors and fire strongly worded letters at the Higher Education Ministry. In fact, they had done so several times and even held a number of discussions with the government in vain before resorting to public protests. So, they cannot be blamed for their marches and rallies, we reckon.

Madness is said to be doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. FUTA members have proved their sanity, so to speak, by changing their modus operandi to win their demands. The fact that the university teachers' trade union action has spilled over into the streets is a damning indictment on the government, which has, as is common knowledge, provoked the strikers to adopt unorthodox methods. Had the government made a genuine effort to solve their problems, there would have been no need for them to hold public rallies.

The government's reaction to the FUTA rally is not yet known but it is not difficult to predict. Politicians and bureaucrats involved in negotiations with the striking lecturers are likely to harden their position. The government's war mentality has not gone away yet and it is apparently relying more on brawn than brain in dealing with FUTA. Power not only corrupts but also intoxicates politicians. Like some types of illicit brew it tends to cause blindness. That is why the ruling party potentates intoxicated with power are blind to reality. The cure is an electoral shock. The bigger, the better! When kicked out of power politicians begin to see.

The government has made a huge mistake. It has, thanks to its arrogance and obduracy, provided another rallying point for the scattered Oppositional forces by driving university teachers to conduct street protests.

In the late 1980s, universities remained more closed than open due to southern terrorism which plunged the country into a blood bath. Today, they have been closed indefinitely owing to the government's arrogance. Ultra radical elements bent on disrupting universities must be laughing up their sleeve.

While the government remains determined not to give in to pressure from FUTA, bankrupt political elements with no prospects of making a comeback under their own steam must be hoping and praying that the university dispute will drag on indefinitely so that they could ride piggyback on striking dons to gain some mileage. The vast majority of people, we believe, do not want the government and the university teachers to continue this battle. They want the universities to reopen without further delay and function smoothly in a trouble free environment.

It is imperative that the government and FUTA sit down and negotiate until a solution is found.

Cartoon of the day, The Island

Colombo Medical Faculty teachers in token strike on Monday

August 24, 2012, 9:47 pm , The Island

The Colombo Faculty of Medicine Teachers Association yesterday decided to stage a token strike on Monday over the failure of authorities to find a solution to the current trade union action by FUTA now nearing two months.

Following is the text of a media release issued by FMTA President Prof. Ravindra Fernando in this connection:

"Faculty of Medicine Teachers Association held a special general meeting today ( 23.08.2012) to discuss the recent development within the university system with regard to the trade union action taken by the Federation of University Teachers Association (FUTA). The membership noted with regret the unsatisfactory way in which this matter has been dealt by the relevant authorities and expressed their displeasure on closure of the universities.

"The FMTA felt that this national issue should be addressed and solved promptly to avoid a crisis situation. The trade union action taken by the FUTA has gone on for almost 2 months but no real effort has been put to resolve this matter yet. The FMTA Colombo feel that the relevant authorities should consider this as an important national issue and try to reach for an amicable solution for the demands put forward by the FUTA. The closure of universities is not the proper solution for this problem. It is genuine and proper dialogue between the two relevant parties which will help to solve this issue.

"Therefore as a mark of protest against the failure of relevant authorities to solve this matter the FMTA Colombo at the special general meeting today (23/08/2012) decided to go on a token strike on 27th August 2012. As a result the academic staff of the Medical Faculty Colombo will refrain from conducting any routine teaching activities on this day."

Malwatte prelate wants FUTA issue resolved through dialogue

August 24, 2012, 9:47 pm


By Cyril Wimalasurendre, The Island

KANDY – Most Venerable Mahanayake of Malwatte Chapter Tibbatuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangala Thera stressed that the strike by the university teachers should be resolved through dialogue by a team including intellectuals. But at any cost the free education of the country should be perfected.

The Mahanayaka Thera made this remark when the Deputy Minister of Higher Education Nandimithra Ekanayaka called on him on Thursday afternoon to brief the prelate on the issue with the university teachers.

The Mahanayake cautioned that free education might be threatened by the opening of the private universities should be protected.

The facilities as well as the standard of education in the network of universities in the country should be raised, the Thera said

"It is not the revenue that is important. Admission of foreign students into the universities to be opened by the private sector should not be with the motive of foreign exchange," the prelate said.

He said tourism in the country was given priority, but there were instances where culture and values were destroyed. The coastal region and Hikkaduwa, in particular, had become sites of ill fame with the increase of tourist arrivals. There was a photograph of a foreigner embracing the image of the Buddha.

Deputy Minister of Higher Education Nandimithra Ekanayaka told the prelate that free education of the country would be protected at all costs.

Admission of foreign students to universities was a common practice in many countries, he said adding that the local students who could not get admission to State universities could enter the private universities and receive the degrees at a lower cost than from foreign universities.

Many students would be offered scholarships, he said.

The universities teachers who were on strike were hampering the education of the student population in the country’s universities, he charged.

The Deputy Minister said the university teachers were paid high salariesand cannot be raised as there was an accepted procedure for increasing salaries.

The Deputy Minister said the many demands put forward by university teachers had been resolved except the demand for the salary increase.

Thirteen universities were closed but not the Medical Faculties. Medical students did not join the students in other faculties to interrupt their own education. The universities were closed to prevent causing damage to property as well as prevent the students being drawn into disastrous activities as was done in 1971 and 1988, he added.