JVP hell-bent on destroying undergrads'
future
The Government has allocated
billions of rupees on free education, from the kindergarten to
postgraduate degrees. But to what extent have students used this unique
facility is worth an appraisal. Funds allocated on the country's higher
education system go down the drain due to wildcat strikes in the
universities. While undergraduates engage in strikes at the drop of a
hat during a major part of the year, university dons and non-academics
spend the remaining period on trade union action.
Most politicians, especially those in the Opposition who are unable
to prove their strength at elections, turn to universities to tap young
party membership. The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), which had
unsuccessfully attempted to capture power through two insurgencies in
1971 and 1988/89, had invariably used higher education institutions to
disseminate its extremist political culture.
The JVP, through the notorious Inter-University Students' Federation,
has more often than not used universities, technical colleges and other
higher educational institutions in the country to flex its political
muscle though it never won the masses' confidence democratically.
Over the years, the JVP desperately tapped new membership among
university freshers. Those who gain university admission with the least
knowledge of local politics, fall prey to the brainwashing of JVP senior
students, who exploit ragging to inject their political ideology. This
helped the JVP to strengthen its membership in the universities.
Most students who support the so-called Anthare during their
undergraduate days, abandon JVP politics after graduation and seek white
collar jobs, which runs counter to the JVP's socialist theories. It is
only at this point of time that students get a broader picture of
politics and life. Nevertheless, the JVP still maintains its strength at
universities as its remaining seniors continue to enrol new members from
the next batch of freshers.
Hence this vicious circle continues unabated, the JVP commands most
student federations in universities. The JVP student union leaders, true
to form, instigate an extremist political ideology. This is mainly
because the senior-most JVP leaders depend solely on its membership in
universities to demonstrate the party's strength from time to time.
Thus, strikes and trade union action have become synonymous with the
country's university system.
On the other hand, the JVP students' wing also extends unbridled
support to the trade unions of academics and non-academics so that it
could take the upper hand and project a dismal overall picture.
A few months ago, the university non-academic staff was on strike for
over a month. Today, there is an ongoing trade union action by the dons,
led by the Federation of University Teachers' Associations (FUTA).
Despite the Government responding positively to the FUTA's major
demands and reopening the universities on Thursday, disgruntled elements
are now attempting to give a fresh lease of life to the dons'
unreasonable trade union action. The Higher Education Ministry asserted
that the Government has granted almost all their demands, save an
unreasonable salary hike.
The Higher Education Ministry on Wednesday, in a special Gazette
notification said that all State-run universities and higher education
institutions will re-open from September 6. These institutions were
closed by a Special Gazette order by Higher Education Minister S.B.
Dissanayake on August 21.
The Minister issued a Gazette notification rescinding the previous
order made under the Universities Act. When the FUTA launched its
strike, they demanded that the Government allocate at least six percent
of the country's Gross Domestic Production on education. However, this
unrealistic and unreasonable demand has been widely criticised by many
knowledgeable experts in the trade.
Leading economist and a senior lecturer at the University of Colombo,
Dr. T. Lalithasiri Gunaruwan dubbed the FUTA demands as 'illogical,
inappropriate and irrelevant'. Earlier in a letter to the Arts Faculty
Teachers' Association (AFTA) and FUTA, Dr. Gunaruwan had said that the
demand for a fixed six percent allocation of the GDP for the education
sector is outrageous, considering that the Government's total Budget is
nearly one-quarter of the GDP at present. This was almost 40 percent of
the GDP in the late 1970s.
Thus, a six percent ratio of the GDP, if applied today, would mean
that nearly a quarter of the Government's total expenditure - or over
one-third of the Government's total revenue, will have to be allocated
for education.
In an economy where almost all fast-growing sectors such as
industries, tourism, transport and many services, belong to the private
sector, this trend will only continue and as a result, the share of the
Government Budget in the economy would reduce further. Higher ratios
from the GDP could be spent by countries such as China which have large
public sectors.
It is needless to stress the importance of protecting and further
developing the public education system and the need to prevent any
pruning of funds in real terms on public education. Since President
Mahinda Rajapaksa first took office in 2005, Sri Lanka has allocated
more funds on sectors such as health, education, agriculture and public
security. Unfortunately, the FUTA has ignored all these and turned a
blind eye to the more pressing needs in the education sector.
Are the FUTA intellectuals unable to comprehend the fact that the
Government would be compelled to withdraw budgetary allocations from
many sectors such as power, railways, highways, ports, airports and
irrigation, if a fixed percentage of the GDP as demanded by them is
allocated to education? Such a situation would pave the way for
privatisation of these resource generating strategic activities. It is a
pity that this simple arithmetic surpasses the comprehension of eminent
academics, particularly those in engineering, mathematics and economics,
who are FUTA members.
On the other hand, some FUTA members, on strike, participated in
various anti-Government demonstrations organised by the JVP, thereby
exposing the hidden agenda behind the dons' ongoing trade union action.
The majority of the FUTA members do not approve of these unrealistic
demands. Hence, the small coterie of lecturers, affiliated to the JVP
and those anti-Government elements should not be permitted to trifle
with the lives of tomorrow's intellectuals. The university lecturers
should be intelligent enough to understand the ground realities and
realise that their demands are unjust.
It is the bounden duty of the Government to safeguard the future of
the undergraduates by exposing the hidden agenda of the FUTA. The JVP,
under no circumstances, should toy with the lives of the youth. |