* University academics of Sri Lanka launch website to collect signatures for a petition to win demands
Sun, Jul 8, 2012, 07:16 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.

July 08, Colombo: University lecturers in Sri Lanka currently engaged in a strike have launched a website to collect signatures for a petition to seek support to their demands.
The Federation of University Teacher's Association (FUTA) has commenced the website to create awareness of the reasons for its trade union action.
FUTA Head, Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri has said that the trade union action of the university academics was not only to win a salary increase.
He has observed that the university lecturers were concerned about the issues faced by the education sector.
He has noted that the Z-score issue was just the tip of the iceberg and that there are far more serious issues faced by the country's higher education and the education sector as a whole.
Dr. Dewasiri reiterated that the government needs to address these issues immediately.
However, FUTA is to hold a discussion with Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga on the 12th of this month to try and resolve issues.
The FUTA website can be found at www.futa-sl.org.

IMPORTANCE OF UNIVERSITY TEACHERS’ STRUGGLE

July 8, 2012, 12:00 pm , the island

Opening a sports complex in Nawalapitiya on July 2nd, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said that his aim was to create a "healthy" generation that could win the world. Given the context of the speech, he was obviously referring to the enhancement of the physical health of the people, to be precise, the younger generation, the thaarunyaya, of the country. This expressed commitment to enhancing the physical health of the younger generation is no doubt a noble one. Nevertheless, in a context where the mental health of the same generation is virtually ignored and the concept of health is reduced to physical health, this commitment becomes rather problematic.

Universities in general and state universities in particular play a central role in defining the mental health of a society. They operate as the main sites of knowledge production and dissemination. One of their main aims is/should be to produce thinkers who are "more open than usual". However, the present situation in Sri Lanka with regard to the state universities of the country indicates that this noble role assigned to universities is increasingly being undermined and devalued. The alleged death threats to the faculty members who are leading the ongoing trade union action, the introduction of laws and regulations that have a critical impact on the country’s tertiary education sector without any consultation with the broader academic community, cheap comments made by the "patrons" of the university system with the aim of ridiculing the university lecturer’s role, the militarization of the university system through the so called leadership training given to the incoming students, and the increased political interventions that are taking place in the university system indicate the degree of this devaluation.

In a context where the pressing problems in the university sector in particular and the education sector in general are being totally and consistently ignored, the President’s statement reflects the dominant outlook that seems to value muscle power over intellectual power in today’s context.The readiness with which the government spends huge sums of public money on promoting sports, sometimes even with the help of Bollywood stars who are flown to and from the country at the public’s expense,points to the marked superiority that physicality enjoys over intellectuality in the current Sri Lankan society.

The demotion of intellectuality and promotion of physicality harmonize well with the militarization that is taking place in our society. The success of the militarization process largely depends on its ability to divert the younger generation, better known as the thaarunyaya in the present political rhetoric, from intellectual activities. The destabilization of the state university system is a necessary step towards achieving this goal. The blind-eye-and-iron-fist theory with which the current problems in the university system are being dealt with should be understood in this broader context.

In such a context, the current trade union action launched by university lecturers could be seen as an attempt to swim against the massive tide of militarization. It reminds both the rulers and the public that the primacy of intellectual power needs to be (re)established over muscle power. It sends a clear message to the rulers that the intellectuals do not approve of the ongoing militarization of society. It reminds society that producing sensitive human beings and thinkers who are "more open than usual" is more important than producing human machines that can only play roles that are already defined for them. Above all, it points to the crucial need for protecting the state university system as the oasis of intellectual freedom of the Sri Lankan academia.

Nandaka Maduranga

Kalugampitiya

Teachers oppose attempt to ‘militarise’ schools

July 8, 2012, 10:18 pm , the island

The Ceylon Teachers’ Service Union has called upon the general public to join it in urging the government to defeat a move to offer the rank of colonel to school principals.

In a media release’ signed by General Secretary of the CTSU Mahinda Jayasinghe, the union says that the government is preparing the ground to militarise the local school system by converting school principals into Colonels of the National Cadet Corps, coming under the purview of the Ministry of Defence.

"We condemn this move to militarise the schools. This would result in producing children being trained to follow orders from top without questioning them," Jayasinghe says in the release.Interviews had been held on July 04 and 05 at the National Cadet Corps headquarters in Kirulapone for principals and educational directors to select the first batch of colonels under the proposed scheme. Those selected would be directed to undergo one week’s training and on completion of it they would be commissioned in the rank of colonel of the NCC which has the powers of same rank in the Sri Lanka Army.

Jayasinghe says the main reason given for the government decision to promote principals and educational directors to the colonel rank is the deterioration of discipline in the school system. It is true that discipline within the school system has hit the rock bottom, but there are several reasons this situation, the teachers’ union says, condemning the government’s alleged move and requesting parents and the general public to exhort the government to abandon its plan to militarise the school system.

FUTA campaign website launched

Further talks with Lalith Weeratunga on Thursday

July 8, 2012, 10:03 pm 

By Dasun Edirisinghe, the island

University teachers engaged in a campaign demanding a salary increase have launched a website to increase public awareness and to collect signatures for a petition to seek public support to win their demands.

President of the Federation of University Teachers’ Associations, Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri has said that the trade union action launched by the university teachers was not only for winning a pay hike but also to remedy the ills of the education sector.

The ongoing strike action would be continued until their demands were met. The representatives of the FUTA would hold a discussion with Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga on July 12 to try and resolve issues, FUTA sources said.

Strike successful despite intimidation – FUTA Head

• Written by  Sandun Jayawardana
• Sunday, 08 July 2012 00:39 , The Nation.

The strike launched by the Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) was proceeding successfully despite the efforts of some vice-chancellors and other parties to intimidate lecturers, claimed FUTA President Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Devasiri.

Speaking to The Nation, Devasiri said all universities except the Kelaniya and Uva Wellassa Universities had joined in the strike. He said that the Kelaniya University lecturers would also join the strike by Wednesday (11) after they hold their general meeting.

“However, the Uva-Wellassa University is unlikely to join, as it does not have FUTA membership, though lecturers there have indicated their willingness to support the strike,” Devasiri said. He alleged junior lecturers at the Uva-Wellassa University were being subjected to severe intimidation by authorities, but claimed they were still supporting FUTA’s actions.

“Some lecturers at Uva-Wellassa have asked us if they could obtain FUTA membership individually. However, this is not possible. The only way for them to obtain membership is to form a trade union within the university. Then they can obtain FUTA membership collectively, and we can protect them in case of intimidation,” he stated.

Devasiri claimed junior lecturers at the University of Visual and Performing Arts had also been subjected to intimidation.

FUTA representatives are to hold another meeting with Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunga next week in a bid to resolve their issues. However, Devasiri emphasized that the government should come up with “something concrete” for them to consider calling off their trade union action. “They need to seriously address our concerns,” he stressed.

The federation’s main demands include a 6% allocation of the GDP on education, a salary hike for university lecturers, and the establishment of Sri Lanka University Academic Service (SLUAS).  

Devasiri said he too had been subjected to intimidation by anonymous callers threatening him to halt the strike. Some men claiming to be from the Defence Ministry had even inquired from neighbors about his daughter’s movements, he claimed. “I have lodged complaints with the police on these threats,” he added.

However, he emphasized the strike would continue despite intimidation. 

FUTA launches website, collects signatures as TU action continues

By Skandha Gunasekara

the sunday Times

The Federation of University Teacher’s Association (FUTA) will continue with their trade union action as discussions with the Government have not yielded satisfactory results, FUTA President Dr. Nirmal Dewasiri said.A FUTA delegation held discussions with President’s Secretary Lalith Weeratunga last Tuesday. Dr.Dewasiri said the talks were ‘cordial and held in an encouraging manner.”

FUTA president addressing a news conference. Pic by Indika Handuwala

Another round of discussions is scheduled for July 12 (Thursday).Dr. Dewasiri stressed that the FUTA’s only concern is not an increase in wages but concerned with various other issues such as corruption in the education sector.

“The Z-score issue was just the tip of the iceberg, there are far more serious issues regarding higher education and the education sector as a whole that the Government must look into and take appropriate action” said Dr. Dewasiri said at a press conference on Friday.Academic staffs of all state universities except for Kelaniya and Uva Wellassa have joined the strike.FUTA members who began their trade union action on July 4 launched an official website and began collecting signatures on a petition to win support for their cause.

The website gives details of FUTA’s struggle with the Government as well as provides facilities to sign the petition online. The website can be found at www.futa-sl.org

* Striking university teachers of Sri Lanka withdraw from weekend academic duties
Sat, Jul 7, 2012, 07:26 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.

July 07, Colombo: Sri Lanka Federation of University Teachers' Associations (FUTA) has announced its decision to withdraw its members from conducting weekend courses at the universities.
Accordingly, the university teachers are to withdraw from the post graduate courses and other academic duties that are held during weekends in the universities.
Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri, the Chairman of the FUTA said that the authorities have not responded positively to their demands.
FUTA launched a continuous strike on July 04 despite the salary increment granted by the Ministry of Higher Education since, according to FUTA, the strike is based on broader demands to find solutions to other problems of the universities.
The FUTA demands increasing allocations for education up to 6% of GDP, freeing universities from politicization and granting facilities to admit children of the university teachers to the schools.

Can University Teachers Bend the Sri Lankan State?

JULY 6, 2012, Kafila 

tags: FUTA, sri lanka, Strike, universities

by Ahilan Kadirgamar

The major strike launched by university teachers in Sri Lanka on July 4th is gaining momentum. Their struggles are proving to be the single most sustained and nationally organised movement in Sri Lanka’s post-war years. This strike follows previous trade union action taken last year where the Heads of Departments of state universities resigned from their positions for several months. With the Government unheeding of their demands, theFederation of University Teachers Associations (FUTA) has reinitiated a full blown strike that is national in character with state universities from all regions of the country participating.

This is not to say there have not been other formidable struggles particularly by subaltern forces in post-war Sri Lanka. There was the militant strike in the Free Trade Zones last year leading to police firing with one protester dead. There was the prison uprising against prison conditions in the Welikada Prison in January this year which was met with repression by the military. There were the fishermen’s protests following the fuel price hikes in February that brought parts of the country to a standstill, but led to police firing with one dead. There was the massive hartal organised by the Muslim community following an attempt to demolish a Mosque in Dambulla. And in recent days the protests by Tamil ex-militants in the Vavuniya Prison crushed by the military and the worrying murder of one of those prisoners who was transferred to another prison. Indeed, the Northern and Eastern Provinces continue to face militarised repression with curtailment of space for dissent and constant intimidation and violence. This has been the signature response of the Rajapaksa Regime in dealing with any kind of dissent and resistance; a response characterised by intimidation, violence and the targeting of leaders organising the struggles. Furthermore, the Regime has depended on polarising ethnic communities and singling out minorities in their attacks. And this is where the sustained all-island national struggle led by the multi-ethnic constituency of the state university system may pose a serious challenge to the Government.

In recent weeks, much to the shock of the academic community, some of the same forms of attacks and intimidation that others have faced, have been deployed against the President of FUTA, Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri. In addition to death threats over the phone, suspicious persons claiming to be from the Ministry of Defence have been lurking near his home inquiring about the movements of Dr. Dewasiri and his family. These acts of intimidation have been met with the outrage of many former academics and the public more broadly.

What is unique about the current strike, which builds on years of negotiations between the State and university teachers, is that the current campaign is framed as one much larger than the salaries of university teachers. Their demands challenge attempts to privatise higher education while undermining state education, the increasing politicisation and patronage characterising university education, the increasing militarisation of education characterised by the compulsory training by the military for new students and a call for an increase in national spending on education from a meagre 1.9% of GDP, one of the lowest in the world, to 6% of GDP. Indeed, for a society that has always found pride in education with historically high rates of literacy and free state education from elementary through higher education, this is a demand that will resonate with the public. And for the moment the university teachers seem to have won over not only teachers in schools but also their students.

Thus the university teachers strike has opened a debate about national policy on education. This debate is about the State’s contract with society on education. What does education mean for a democracy and how is education itself democratised? Even as university teachers are preparing to face the intimidation of an authoritarian State, they are also struggling with questions of hierarchy within the university space and the despicable practice of ragging by students. It is that democratic ethos engendered by meaningful struggle that is perhaps the most encouraging aspect of this strike; a movement that transforms universities. On July 6th, at a well attended press conference and meeting, preceded by numerous meetings over the last few weeks, FUTA was able to display both its strength and its organisation as it launched a new website, engagingposters and pamphlets and a call for a million citizens to sign a petition to save state education. The million dollar question is whether the increasingly neoliberal authoritarian state bent on slashing social welfare will bend in the face of this determined struggle of university teachers.

இலங்கையில் கல்வித்துறையில் பின்னடைவு எற்பட்டுள்ளது; பல்கலைக்கழக விரிவுரையாளர்கள் தொழிற்சங்க சம்மேளனம்

உதயன்

10 லட்சம் கையெழுத்துக்களைப் பெற்று கல்வித்துறையில் காணப்படும் பின்னடைவுகளை பொது மக்களுக்கு தெளிவுபடுத்தி அவர்களிடையே விழிப்புணர்ச்சியினை ஏற்படுத்த பல்கலைக்கழக விரிவுரையாளர்கள் தொழிற்சங்க சம்மேளனம் தீர்மானித்துள்ளது.    அதனடிப்படையில் கடந்த 4ம் திகதி தாம் ஆரம்பிக்கப்பட்ட பணிப்பகிஷ்கரிப்பானது அவர்கள் முன்வைத்துள்ள கோரிக்கைகள் நிறைவேற்றப்படும் வரையில் விடப்போவதில்லை என சம்மேளனத்தின் தலைவர் கலாநிதி நிர்மால் ரஞ்ஜித் தேவசிறி தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.     சம்பள உயர்வு உள்ளிட்ட பல கோரிக்கைகளை முன்வைத்து பல்கலைக்கழக விரிவுரையாளர்கள் பணிப்பகிஷ்கரிப்பில் ஈடுபட்டு வருகின்றனர்.    இருப்பினும் சம்பள உயர்வு தொடர்பில் எதிர்வரும் 12ம் திகதி ஜனாதிபதி செயலாளர் லலித் வீரதுங்கவுடன் பல்கலைக்கழக விரிவுரையாளர்கள் இரண்டாம் கட்டமாக  பேச்சுவார்த்தையினை மேற்கொள்ளவுள்ளனர்.    எனினும் இதற்கு முன்னரும் பல்கலைக்கழக கல்விசார் ஊழியர்கள் பணிப்பகிஷ்கரிப்பினை மேற்கொண்டிருந்தனர். எனினும் அரசின் வாக்குறுதிகளால் அவை தற்காலிகமாக நிறுத்தப்பட்டது.   அதன் பின்னரும் அவர்களது வாக்குறுதிகள் நிறைவேற்றப்படவில்லை இதனையடுத்து அவர்கள் மீண்டும் பணிப்பகிஷ்கரிப்பை நேற்று முன்தினம் முதல் ஆரம்பித்துள்ளமை குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.

Z Score: Delay in implementing SC directive queried

July 6, 2012, 9:45 pm 

By Saman Indrajith, the island

The main Opposition UNP queried in Parliament yesterday as to why the government authorities concerned were delaying the implementation of the Court ruling delivered on the 25th of last month with regard to the ‘Z-score’ crisis.

UNP National List MP D. M. Swaminathan, participating in an adjournment debate, said that it had resulted in a serious crisis.

"The scheme of allocating ‘Z-score’ has loomed into a colossal national problem today. The lethargic attitude of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education is the contributory factor for this national problem relating to results of last year’s GCE Advanced Level examination. It is very unfortunate that still a concrete decision has not been taken to solve this problem."

"The Supreme Court has given a brilliant judgement with regard to the ‘Z-score’ Scheme. I take this opportunity to extend our gratitude to the Supreme Court for its superb decision in this regard."

He said: "We all know that the future of our children depends mainly on their education. We cannot allow the education to be obliterated by the lethargic attitude of a few officers. This august House has a right to probe into this.

"The Supreme Court has ruled that the ‘Z-score’ should be evaluated separately based on the results of the students who sat for the GC.E Advanced Level Examination according to the old syllabus and the new syllabus.

"The Supreme Court held that injustices had been done to students who sat the examination based on two different categories of recommendations in respect of the ‘Z-score’ scheme. While adopting the new procedure, if university admission is denied to those who are already selected to enter universities based on the earlier evaluation, such denial cannot be tolerated. I call upon this House to mete out justice to them as well.

"The concern that should be addressed here is as to how long these committees, appointed by the government, will take to come out with their decisions. I request that steps be taken to resolve this problem as soon as practicable without wasting time.

"I wish to bring to the notice of this House that the ruling of the Court relating to the ‘Z-score’ was on the 25th of last month, there has been a delay in implementing same. It is the hapless students who are aggrieved by this. I request this House not to plunge them into darkness.

"Though it is more than two weeks since the judgment was delivered the Ministry of Higher Education, Department of Examinations and the University Grants Commission are jointly and severally shirking their responsibilities putting the blame on others, wasting time delaying their actions and appointing committees etc. I request to forgive and forget the mistakes unmindful of those who are accountable for same and come forward to implement at least the judgment of Court to enliven the life of these poor students.

"Every second delayed in implementing the judgment of the Court merely because of the authoritarian tussle of the ministers and higher authorities will erode the lives of these students. I wish to stress, at this point, that any further delay in finding a solution to this problem might cause a mighty agitation to flare up," the MP said.