President of the
Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) Dr. Nirmal Ranjith
Dewasiri told The Island that they would launch FUTA’s ‘manifesto’ on the
present crisis in the education sector on the International Labour Day, May 01.
He said that the FUTA
had planned to distribute the copies of the manifesto at all May Day rallies in
Colombo and the suburbs.
"Our main
objective is to ensure the allocation of six per cent of the GDP for the
education sector," Dr. Dewasiri said, adding that they would hold a
vehicle parade, too, on May 01.
The senior academic
said that the FUTA had temporarily suspended its 100-day strike last year on
the government’s assurance that its demands would be met step by step, but the
situation in the education sector had gone from bad to worse during the past
six months.
Dr. Dewasiri said
that the government was encouraging private universities while cutting down on
funds for state universities.
"We expect to
educate the people, who will gather at May Day rallies, on the present
education crisis," he said. Exteact From Online Island
www.lankauniversity-news.com
FUTA can protest on May day but they are also duty bound to perform a job of work for the salaries they get from the government. Therefore their main aim should be to educate the undergraduates in their chosen fields of study rather than resorting to strike action and neglect their primary duty. When FUTA agitates it is only the poor undergraduates who do not have the means to obtain private education suffers.
ReplyDelete