The Arts Faculty Teachers Association (AFTA) of the Colombo University has written to the University’s Vice-Chancellor expressing their concern over the arbitrary manner in which the Deputy Vice-Chancellor was appointed and thereafter dismissed.
SB – Minister Higher Education
The AFTA Secretary, Krishantha Fedricks in a letter to Colombo University VC Dr. Kumara Hirimburegama has pointed out the grave violations of protocol that have occurred in appointing and dismissing the DVC as well as in suspending several selected temporary student counselors without any explanation, prior to the completion of their tenure.
In his letter Fedricks has pointed out that the appointment of the DVC lacked transparency due to the politicization of the position quite similar to the appointments made to several other positions in the university.
“This should have been in accordance with the procedures – similarly it should have been followed when dismissing him,” he has asserted in the letter, pointing out the dismissal has been carried out to achieve narrow ends without an impartial investigation.
The academics in their letter have also expressed their discontent over the disregard of the many requests made by the AFTA to the VC in order to discuss issues pertaining to university in general and to the academic staff and the students of the Arts faculty.
They have accused the VC of failing to seek a consultative approach to find solutions to problems in the university and of his ‘undemocratic and arbitrary manner’ in which the decisions are made.
Furthermore, they have called upon the VC to provide an appointment for a group of representatives from AFTA for a discussion while urging him to ensure the academics are not compelled to resort to a public demonstration in order to obtain an appointment for a discussion.
Tamil from the north / August 9, 2014
The bugger here is the minister of higher education? Bloody joke :).
This fellow is a 3rd class thug, who never even attended school and today he is a minister of higher education. Isn’t this the bugger when he was a sports minister tried to rape Susanthika Jayasinghe? The poor woman goes out and gains fame for the country and this 3rd rate garbage tries to rape her. What a way to celebrate this lady’s success?
/
Tamil from the South / August 11, 2014
S.B. SDissanayake got a degree (Bachelor of Development, B. Dev.) from the Sri Jaywardenapure University (a.k.a Vidyodya University at the time) At that time there were tamils attending it, with Dr. Sivathambi the head of the tamil Dept. I was there.
S. B. was a very intelligent and cunning guy. He is no fool.
He was a thug in the same sense that ALL THE OTHER STUDENT LEADERS WERE THUGS. But he was no thug compare to the culture of violence that had been perpetrated by the JVP types, with Siri Wijesekera and his goons at the campus.
Meanwhile, the nascent LTTE and other TULF-boys – thugs if there were any (in their early years , 1977), attacked the Sinhalese students who had been sent to the Jaffna campus to develop some inter-ethinc understanding. Mr. Wijesurendra, the Registrar was also attacked. Dr. Sivathambi was by then in Jaffna. The VC and Sivathambi and others could only get the sinhalses students out under cover, and ship them to saftey under grave danger. Even then several sinhalese students were brutalized and maimed. A girl was raped.
The tamil students in the southern universities were mortally afraid that they will get attacked in revange. But the Singhalese students did not attack. S. B. and others were Marixts then, and had an open-minded, tolerant attitude to tamils.
There were many more Tamil Thug attacks brutalizing the Sinhalese stdents, and the Sinhalese in Jaffna, I knew that the patience of the Sinhalese would not last long, and so I moved out. 1983 was slowly cooked into what it became, jointly by the Sinhalese, and the Tamils. But as usual, the effect on the Tamils was catastrophic. What else would you expect, if a small minority taunts a large majority with arms? That was the hubris and the folly of the Chelvanayagam-Navrantnam-Naganathan lineage of Colombo tamils who whipped tamil nationalism into a frenzy to achieve Arasu a.k.a Eelam.
/
Dinuk / August 9, 2014
Who is the dismissed VC? WHat is his name
The [Edited out] clown Premakumara Silva who has been running behind the regime for years – did he fall out of favour now?!
The Sociology Dept of Colombo university is a corrupt and unethical place full of time serving third class lecturers… and should be SHUT DOWN!
/
Mavan / August 9, 2014
We are not talking about Premakumara Silva. Next month he would go and work the VC if he gets a chance. He is shamless man. We are not backing him. What we are talking only about the post of DVC. How DVC is appointed and dismissed. Thats all
/
Present MA Sociology Student / August 13, 2014
Thanks Mavan. That’s the truth. We should protect the UOC. We should not unduly criticism the Socology Dept. we have experienced eminent lectures.
/