UGC says no pay for striking non-academics

July 1, 2012, 10:01 pm ,the island

University Grants Commission chief Prof. Gamini Samaranayake said that while endorsing the right of workers to strike, the International Labour Organization (ILO) had decided that they shouldn’t be paid for the days they don’t work.

Prof. Samaranayake told The Island that in line with the ILO directive, university non-academic staff wouldn’t be paid as they didn’t report for work recently.

The official was responding to non-academic staff of the Rajarata and Eastern Universities who alleged that their full salaries weren’t paid last month, though their colleagues at other universities received it in full.

President of the Inter University Trade Union Federation R. M. Chandrapala told The Island that they refrained from working from June 06 to 27 to pressure the government to rectify their salary anomalies.

According to him, the UGC had directed Vice Chancellors to deprive them of 70 per cent of their salary.

Over 2000 potential mosquito breeding grounds found in C’bo

The armed forces and private security services yesterday carried out a dengue eradication programme under which 360 teams inspected 13,356 houses in Colombo. Sources said that over 2,000 of them were identified as potential breeding grounds while cases would be filed against about 60 house owners. Sources said that this was the largest one-day anti-dengue operation conducted in Colombo.

Address academics’ concerns about future of education, universities

July 1, 2012, 7:54 pm ,the island

We as a group of Emeritus Professors and former members of the academic staff of Sri Lankan State universities wish to record our grave concern at the deteriorating situation in our national universities and reports of threats of violence against members of the academic community. We are shocked by the alleged death threats received by the current president of the Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA), Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri, Head of the Department of History of the University of Colombo. These threats have come after FUTA’s announcement of trade union action to be launched in the next few weeks.

The right of academics of Sri Lankan universities to engage in trade union action on issues of wider concern in the university system has a long tradition. University trade unions have played a significant role in improving the conditions of university staff and also impacting on higher education policy. The fact that some of us engaged in trade union action has never meant that our expertise and professional contribution was not respected and valued by respective governments. We were also never subject to threats and intimidation due to trade union action.

We have noted that the recent FUTA demands have not been limited to the personal concerns of academics, but have also been expanded to bring attention to the current crisis in the public universities due mostly to lack of funding and what seems to be entrenched political interference. There is a total disregard for the core concepts of university autonomy and academic freedom recognized in the Universities Act. We have watched the deterioration of national universities with grave concern and have sometimes raised these issues in public fora. Our concerns on previous occasions have related to current trends in militarisation, violence, intimidation and lawlessness. This violence is now being directed at university academics in order to prevent them from exercising their fundamental rights to freedom of thought and expression and freedom of association and peaceful assembly.

We welcome efforts of the current academic community to fulfill their responsibilities and to engage in discussions on broader national issues that are also relevant to university education in Sri Lanka. We call upon His Excellency the President to ensure the personal safety of Dr. Dewasiri and his family and of all university academics including those engaged in trade union action so that they are not subject to acts of violence and intimidation. We also call upon the Minister of Higher Education and officials of the Ministry to respond meaningfully and in good faith to address the very relevant concerns that academics have expressed regarding the future of public education and universities in Sri Lanka.

1. Prof. Arjuna Aluwihare (Medical, Peradeniya, former VC Peradeniya, former Chairman University Grants Commission)

2. Prof. Y.R. Amarasinghe, (Political Science, Peradeniya)

3. Prof. Herbert A. Aponso, (Medical, Peradeniya)

4. Prof. Kumar David (Engineering, Peradeniya)

5. I V Edirisinghe (Sociology, Colombo)

6. Prof. Asoka Ekanayake (Dental, Peradeniya)

7. Prof. J N O Fernando (Chemistry, OUSL)

8. Dr. Laksiri Fernando (Political Science, Colombo)

9. Dr. Siromi Fernando (English, Colombo)

10. Dr. Sucharitha Gamlath (Sinhala, Jaffna and Ruhuna)

11. R K W Goonesekere (Law, University of Ceylon, former Chancellor Peradeniya)

12. Prof Savitri Goonesekere (Law, OUSL and Colombo, former VC Colombo)

13. Prof. Savitri Gunatilleke, (Botany, Peradeniya)

14. Prof. Chandra Gunewardene (Education, OUSL)

15. Prof. J A Gunawardena (Engineering, Peradeniya)

16. Prof. Ratna Handurukande (Classical Languages, Peradeniya)

17. Prof. Buddhadasa Hewavitharane (Economics, Peradeniya)

18. Prof. Laksiri Jayasuriya (Sociology, Colombo)

19. Dr. Sirima Kiribamune (History, Peradeniya),

20. Prof. Savitri Kumar (Chemistry, Peradeniya)

21. Prof. Vijaya Kumar (Chemistry, Peradeniya)

22. Prof. Lalitha Mendis (Microbiology, Colombo)

23. Dr. Sinnaiah Maunaguru (Fine Arts, Eastern)

24. Prof. Desmond Mallikarachchi (Philosophy, Peradeniya)

25. Prof P.B. Meegaskumbura (Sinhala, Peradeniya)

26. Prof Mohamed Nuhman (Tamil, Peradeniya)

27. Prof. Gananath Obeysekere (Anthropology, Princeton University and formerly University of Ceylon)

28. Prof. Ranjini Obeysekere (Anthropology, Princeton University and formerly University of Ceylon)

29. Dr. Arjuna Parakrama (English, Colombo and Peradeniya)

30. Dr Dharmasena Pathiraja (Media Studies, Colombo)

31. Prof. Merlin Peiris (Classical Languages, Peradeniya)

32. Prof. Ryhana Raheem (English, OUSL)

33. Prof. M P Ranaweera (CIvil Engineering, Peradeniya)

34. Dr. N. D. Samarawickrama (Economics, Peradeniya)

35. Prof D C H Senarath (Civil Engineering, Moratuwa),

36. Prof. H L Seneviratne (Anthropology, University of Virginia, and formerly University of Ceylon)

37. Prof. H Sriyananda (Engineering, OUSL)

38. Prof D.P M Weerakkody (Classical Languages, Peradeniya)

39. Prof. P. D Premasiri, (Pali and Buddhist Stu dies, Peradeniya)

40. Dr. P.V.J. Jayasekera (History, Peradeniya)

An appeal to Higher Education Ministry Secy.

July 1, 2012, 7:56 pm , the island

As a regular reader of Island, I was pleased that a report in The Island on 30 June quoted a letter by you, Dr Sunil Jayantha Navaratne, Education Secretary of the Ministry of Higher Education, to the academic staff members of the universities, that gave details of the increases in salaries and allowances that they had received during 2011 and 2012. I am quoting a few extracts from the reported letter that pointed out the increases:

Salary of Senior professor: 73.88% Salary of Professor: 69.73% Salary of Senior lecturer: 61.13% Salary of Lecturer: 53.39%% Salary of all the academic staff: average 66% Preparing question papers of university students: 400% Payment for evaluating question papers of internal students: 400% Payment for evaluating question papers of post graduate students: 150 % Payment for conducting visiting lectures: 200%

The increases that the academic staff members have received are impressive and enviable, and I am certain that these moves will go a long way to making Sri Lanka the Knowledge Hub of Asia.

For the benefit of many readers like the writer, who are ignorant of the amount that the academic staff receive as salary and the allowances following the increase, please give this information as well. Those who value higher education will be most grateful to you for providing them with this vital information.

Gamini Premadasa

Universities: Former Dons raise alarm

July 1, 2012, 8:58 pm ,the island

Forty leading professors and academics of Sri Lankan universities have expressed their grave concern over the deteriorating situation in the universities and reports of threats of violence against members of the academic community.

They have urged President Mahinda Rajapaksa to ensure the safety and security of all members of the FUTA in the wake of alleged threats directed at its head as well as his family.

Full statement appears on opinion page

FUTA Media Release in Response to the UGC and the CVCD

FUTA Media Release in Response to the UGC and the CVCD

28/06/2012,

The FUTA media release in response to: UGC claims Uni. teachers given unusual pay hike and Uni. teachers requested to solve salary issue through dialogue by CVCD.

Download the googledoc statement (English)

Zeroing on Z- score fiasco

the sundayTimes

The Z-score calculation for university admission is once again in the spotlight following last week’s Supreme Court decision, with the new development bringing fresh hope to some students and confusion to others while education authorities are embroiled in a blame game.

Uncertain future: Students who fear that the revision of the Z- score will hinder their admission to University read leaflets pertaining to A Level revision classes last morning. Pic by Indika Handuwala

Uncertain future: Students who fear that the revision of the Z- score will hinder their admission to University read leaflets pertaining to A Level revision classes last morning. Pic by Indika Handuwala

The Supreme Court ordered the University Grants Commission (UGC) to annul the 2011 G.C.E. Advanced Level examination Z-score calculation and recalculate for the old and new syllabus separately.

The 2011 calculation was done according to a pooling formula for the first time since the Z score was introduced, with results of the both syllabuses being merged and calculated.
In 2001 Peradeniya University senior Professor of Statistics R.O. Thattil and a panel of experts introduced the Z-score formula for university admission.

“When the new calculation was introduced, I pointed out that there will be issues in merging results of two syllabuses and the Z-score marks will be erroneous.

It is incorrect to put two populations together; it’s like adding biology and history. Every single paper had two syllabuses, both had a different number of questions and the marks allocated have a difference too,” Prof. Thattil told the Sunday Times.

He said despite concerns, the UGC went ahead with the new formula and even after a number of complaints, education authorities did not consider going for a re-calculation. “The SC order comes as a relief especially to students. This issue could have been solved earlier if the experts panel had convinced the authorities that there was a need to re-calculate,” he said.
In 2011, 243,876 students sat the Advanced Level examination with 144,341 from the new syllabus and 99,535 from the old.

The Examinations Department received the highest number of re-scrutiny applications, 148,168 (57 percent) for A/Level this year. Following the SC order that called for separate re-calculation, the re-scrutinised A/Level results of 2725 students changed. Claiming that the UGC has to accept responsibility for causing this blunder and inconveniencing the students, Prof.Thattil said he had received a request last week from the Higher Education Ministry Secretary seeking his assistance regarding the formula.
Meanwhile, educationist and former Dean of Colombo University’s Faculty of Education, Prof. S.Chandrasekaran said it was unfortunate that there were so many cases of fundamental rights violations in the field of education.� “From school admissions, to the Ordinary Level and Advanced Level exams there have been many instances where the Supreme Court had to get involved.

Education authorities should be more responsible in their decisions,” he said.On Tuesday (26), a news conference was held at the Higher Education Ministry by a panel comprising Higher Education Minister S.B.Dissanayake, UGC Chairman Professor Gamini Samaranayake and Prof.Sarath Kulatunge, representing the experts who came up with the 2011 formula for the A Level results.

Minister Dissanayake said the re-calculation will take place according to the court order but refused to comment whether the formula used for the 2011 A Level examination was a failure.Prof. Samaranayake said legal assistance will be sought to clarify certain areas of the judgment, especially with regard to which� authority was responsible.

S. B. Dissanayake and Prof. Samaranayake at the news conference

Prof. Kulatunge said the panel would stand by its formula and that both, pooling of the two syllabuses and separate methods were tried out.When contacted by the Sunday Times to explain the 2011 Z-score formula combining both A Level syllabuses he refused to comment stating that it was based on scientific evidence and to minimise injustices to students.

“We respect the SC decision and now that the panel has been dissolved there is no need to explain more on it. But it has been a proven method,” Prof. Kulatunge said.The five member panel of the 2011 Z-score formula included senior professors and heads of departments of statistics from the universities of Colombo, Kelaniya, Moratuwa and Sri Jayawardhanapura.

Despite opposition parties calling for the resignation of Higher Education Minister S. B. Dissanayake and Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena their portfolios over the 2011 Z-score fiasco, both ministers have not taken the responsibility over the issue.Minister Gunawardena said that neither he nor the Examinations Commissioner was responsible as the Exams Department issued the results based on the formula prepared by the UGC, coming under the Higher Education Ministry. Minister Dissanayake also said he need not resign, as Z-scores will be released within a month’s time and students will enter university in October as in previous years.

Meanwhile, students who have been waiting for almost a year to gain admission to universities accuse the education and higher education ministries for being inconsiderate of their future.Ranjula Herath (19) who sat for the A/L’s last year in the commerce stream charged that it was a waste of time.

Those who had good ranks are sure of entering university. But those who are on the border are uncertain of their future she said, adding students who obtained medium-level scores did not apply to university but now with the re-calculation they are not sure whether they will be eligible for university admission.

“I started CIMA and also a part time job while awaiting university admission. But we were not called for the leadership training that was scheduled to begin in� May,”she said.

Christjit Xavier (19) sat for the A/L’s in the Bio stream offering Biology, Physics and Chemistry as subjects.
“I obtained 2 A’s and a B and was expecting to enter the Medical Faculty. Now I’m worried about the Z-score and district rank,” he said adding that many of his colleagues have applied for scholarships offered by India and Bangladesh.

“Even to apply for scholarships we need the ranks and this mess created by education authorities has caused a lot of difficulty to students,” he said.

Zahrah Rizwan(19) sat for the A/L’s in the Arts stream. “At the beginning I was really enthusiastic about getting into university. I applied to Colombo, Kelaniya and J’pura universities. But now I don’t know whether the ranks will change,”she said.

National Institute of Mental Health Consultant Psychiatrist Dr. Harischandra Gambheera said these situations can cause a high level of stress among students, especially in a competitive university entrance system.

How the Z-score is calculated

• The average marks (mean) of each subject is obtained by dividing the total number of marks by the number of candidates.
• Then the average marks (mean) is subtracted from each student’s marks on each subject.
• This is divided by the ‘standard deviation,’ a widely used measure of variability.
• Then the Z-score for each subject by a student is obtained.
• This figure is totalled and divided by the number of subjects (three) to arrive at the Z-score.
• The results obtained by each candidate are then placed on a district� and island-wide ranking.

Editorial

Z-score and U-turns

June 29, 2012, 7:44 pm , the island

Ministers in charge of education and higher education are nursing their derriere following a humiliating pratfall at Hulftsdorp on Monday. They are bellowing empty rhetoric and trotting out ludicrous excuses to save face but the Z-score has manifestly boomeranged on them. Having defended the formula used for the 2011 GCE (A/L) examination Z-score calculation, in public and in Parliament, they cannot absolve themselves of the blame for its application and the attendant mess-up.

Minister Wimal Weerawansa's party, the National Freedom Front (NFF), not to be outdone by the Opposition which lost no time in hauling Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena and Higher Education Minister S. B. Dissanayake over the coals, called for their resignation. Accusing them of having made a stinking mess of the education sector, NFF politburo member Piyasiri Wijenayake urged them to take responsibility for Z-score fiasco and step down forthwith.

Such calls are inconsequential as neither those who make them nor government ministers usually take them seriously, but Wijenayake's demand is of some significance as his party is a coalition partner of the ruling UPFA. His political derring-do may have gone down rather well but he was oblivious to the consequences of his utterances. It may not have occurred to him that his leader Minister Weerawansa was also bound by the so-called principle of collective Cabinet responsibility!

Minister Weerawansa made a vain attempt to control damage on Thursday. He argued at a public function that none of the government ministers were to be held responsible for the Z-score mess-up and the blame for it should be pinned solely on the experts who devised the formula at issue as well as the Examination Department bigwigs. But, no one––not even Wijenayake, we suppose––was convinced by Weerawansa's glib.

Minister Weerawansa chose to ignore the fact that the Education Minister and the Higher Education Minister had defended the Z-score formula to the hilt. He cut a very pathetic figure yet another time, trying to defend the indefensible.

Victory, they say, has a thousand fathers and defeat is an orphan. What would have happened if the Supreme Court judgment had gone in favour of the UGC? The beleaguered ministers would have claimed the credit for preparing the Z-score immediately and the ferocious government propaganda hounds who turned tail and ran away on Monday would have torn their critics to shreds.

We hope the UGC experts and the Examination Department worthies will learn from their mistakes and be wary of pandering to the whims and fancies of their political masters who have no qualms about wriggling out of difficult situations at the expense of anyone else.

Minister Weerawansa's claim that the government big guns should not be held responsible for what the State officials and experts do is of special interest. If so, the government should not seek the credit or grab the limelight when officials and experts successfully carry out tasks assigned to them. Fair enough, eh? Will Weerawansa peddle the same argument as regards who should be given the credit for the country's successful war on terror?

When Minister Weerawansa says politicians should not be blamed for what their officials do, are we to gather that he is trying to have his political masters frothing at the mouth believe that he should not be held responsible for what an NFF official (Wijenayake) has said?

Pseudo-Marxists are notorious for espousing populist causes as a matter of expediency while riding piggyback on capitalists in power to enjoy perks and privileges. Minister Weerawansa is running with the hare and hunting with the hounds. He has apparently reached a stage where he does not know whether he is running or hunting!

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."

Vice Chancellors tell FUTA why it shouldn’t strike

June 28, 2012, 9:33 pm , the island

The Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Directors has said that because academics have received substantial increase in remuneration and other benefits they shouldn’t disrupt universities.

The Committee was responding to Federation of University Teachers’ (FUTA) threat to launch an indefinite strike on July 4, 2012 demanding a salary increase and allocation of 6 per cent of the GDP to education. Chairman of the Committee Prof. Susirith Mendis has said that there is still an opportunity for negotiations with the government.

The following is the statement issued by Prof. Mendis consequent to a special meeting of the Committee held on Monday.

* Since the non academic trade union action has already disrupted academic activities of the universities, the impending trade union action by FUTA will continue to disrupt and seriously aggravate the situation adversely affecting free education;

* This will delay the admission of new students to the universities as well as the graduation of university students;

* This will result in waste of valuable academic expertise and other resources of the universities;

* This will seriously tarnish the credibility of the academics in the eyes of the public;

* This will erode the public confidence and superior positions maintained by the national universities as the premier providers of higher education in Sri Lanka and

* The academics have recently received substantial increases in remuneration and other benefits.

Vice Chancellors and Directors of Sri Lankan universities speak against union action

Wed, Jun 27, 2012, 10:14 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
 
Jun 27, Colombo: The Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Directors Sri Lanka (CVCD) has come out against the trade union action planned by the university academics.
The CVCD issuing a statement has pointed out that the trade union action recently launched by the non-academic staff in universities has disrupted academic activities and that the planned action by the Federation of University Teachers Association (FUTA) would also affect the university functions.
The committee has also pointed out that the union action would also delay the admission of new students and delay the graduation of university students and this will aggravate the public.
The statement notes, "Since the non-academic trade union action has already disrupted academic activities of the universities, the impending trade union action by FUTA will continue to disrupt and seriously aggravate the situation adversely affecting free education."
"This will delay the admission of new students to the universities as well as the graduation of university students; this will result in wastage of valuable academic expertise and other resources of the universities; This will seriously tarnish the credibility of the academics in the eyes of the public; This will erode the public confidence and superior positions maintained by the national universities as the premier providers of higher education in Sri Lanka," the statement said.
"The academics have recently received substantial increases in remuneration and other benefits," the CVCD pointed out.
The CVCD has also noted that opportunities still exist for negotiations with the state authorities before embarking on the proposed trade union action.
The FUTA has vowed to go ahead with the planned strike on July 04.