Teachers’ unions of
the Colombo University are to write to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, expressing
concern about the appointment of Dr. Kumara Hirimburegama as their Vice
Chancellor (VC). The unions are expected to meet tomorrow, said Executive
Committee member of the Colombo University Federation of Teachers Unions’
(CUFTU), Dr Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri.
Dr Hirimburegama is
the husband of former VC Prof Kshanika Hirimburegama, who now heads the
University Grants Commission (UGC). The controversy broke out after President
Rajapaksa appointed Dr Hirimburegama as VC over another academic, Prof Lakshman
Dissanayake.
Prof Dissanayake
secured 18 votes at the University Council election —3 more than Dr
Hirimburegama, while a third candidate for the VC post, Dr Prathiba Mahanamahewa,
polled only 8 votes. When the UGC sent the three names to the President,
he appointed Dr. Hirimuburegama. The appointment is not illegal, as the law
gives authority to the Executive to decide. But the unions protested, saying
the most qualified candidate—the one who secured a majority at the election—was
deliberately bypassed.
“We have still not
officially voiced our concern to the President regarding the appointment,” Dr
Dewasiri said. “We want to make it known through a formal letter. So far we haven’t
decided on any other concrete actions, but we want to continue this protest.”
Dr Dewasiri is also
the president of the Federation of University Teachers’ Association (FUTA),
which has opposed Dr Hirimburegama’s selection.However, it is unclear whether
the campaign will succeed, as there are differences of opinion among academics.
On Thursday, lecturers kept away from the annual convocation of Peradeniya
University, in protest against politicisation. But on Wednesday, a majority of
members of the Colombo University’s Senate defied the CUFTU’s call for a
boycott of a meeting scheduled for that day.
Dr Dewasiri admitted
that the boycott was “an utter failure”, but said it was because Senate members
feared victimisation.
“I think attendance was better than at usual Senate meetings!” he said. “People
don’t want to be targeted. Usually, at Senate meetings, the excuses list is
longer than the list of those who are present. Some people told me they saw
members this time, they had never seen attending before. They clearly wanted to
show that their absence was not because of the boycott.”
While the majority of
academics agree that “there is an issue”, the general attitude was that the
President was unlikely to change his decision in view of their protests, Dr
Dewasiri said. “We know it’s not easy to mobilise the academic community, but
we will try our utmost to make this a public issue, because, what happened was
wrong,” he reiterated.
“There is a tendency
to take the status quo for granted,” he explained. “When you take a place like
the Medical Faculty, this is a chronic disease. They have made up their minds
strongly, not to bother about these issues. There are various vested interests,
too.”
“This has gone to
dangerous levels,” he warned. “Now, there is this silence. There may not be a
breakthrough in the near future, but we will try our utmost to make it a major
issue.”
Prof Hirimburegama
rejected the allegations. “We are two qualified individuals, and we have
rights,” she said. “We have been working together for so many decades. Why did
this problem, this husband and wife story, suddenly come up? There are so many
cases of husbands and wives working together. There is no such rule that the
person with the highest votes should get the VC post. The final decision is
with His Excellency.”
Her husband dismissed
the protests as “politics”, but said, he welcomed opposition. “In a democracy,
we need opposition,” Dr. Hirimburegama maintained. “When we make a mistake,
there should be someone to point it out. This is a healthy situation.”
Among other things, the unions argue that there is a serious conflict of
interest in appointing the husband of the UGC Chairperson as VC of a
University.
“The UGC Chairperson
has already violated the University Act by sending all three names recommended
by the Council to his Excellency the President, instead of recommending a
single name for appointment, which is clearly stated in the Act,” CUFTA says in
a letter to Senate members. “Further, she has actively canvassed for her
husband to be appointed VC of Colombo University, which is highly unethical,
and goes against the norms of decency.”
Dr Dewasiri stressed
that the repercussions of such politicisation of the university system were
dire. “We know that politicisation is everywhere, and that all appointments to
public institutions are being manipulated by political interests,” he said.
“But universities, by nature, need autonomy. It’s not an ornament, but a very
integral part of university culture.”
“There is a growing
attitude among senior academics qualified to be appointed VCs, that they don’t
want to apply for the post,” Dr Dewasiri revealed. “I know several people were
asked by fellow academics to apply. They clearly said there is no point
applying unless you have political backing.”
Extract From Online Sunday Times
www.lankauniversity-news.com
Fuck him !! The VC. Why the hell he can't take a proper action to start the new arts batch ?? FUCK HIM !!
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