University of Jaffna Employees’ Union today charged that the Ministry of Higher Education was functioning like a typical job bank.
In a statement, the union also expressed their deep distress and dissatisfaction over the recent attempts made by the ministry to fill the non-academic staff vacancies without falling proper procedure.
Minister Kiriella
“Even though the University of Jaffna administration gives the excuse that its actions are according to UGC Circular 876 dated 6 June 2006, this is an excellent example showing that this Government of Good Governance is administering institutions exactly as the previous government did,” the statement signed by the union’s President S. Thangarajah and Joint Secretaries S. Kalaraj and T. Sivaruban said.
The union charged that while ordinary citizens lack the opportunity to have their names entered on this list of persons to be employed, the university has been transformed into a place where employment is offered to the stooges of representatives of the ruling party.
“In his 2015 Election Manifesto, President Maithripala Sirisena promised us that he would permit universities to function autonomously, and that is also what the universities Act of 1978 promised us, but after this Government of Good Governance was formed, the new Council appointed for University of Jaffna filled vacancies for Computer Applications Assistants, Laboratory Assistants and so on only by newspaper advertisements. For this departure from Circular 876, the Ministry of Higher Education had given its authorization,” the union said.
They also charged that even when the Council Members stated that those appointed from ministry lists had no verifiable certificate proving the qualifications of such appointees, some Deans and Department Heads were threatened and were harassed by these political appointees.
They union also charged that even the vacancies of IT Personnel, Security Guards and Workers are filled by the Ministry of Higher Education lists.
“Is it because the authorities think these lower level appointments will cause no problems to Department Heads? Is it because you think only lower level supervisors will face problems from these appointees and not higher level administrators?,” the union questioned.
The union alleged that there were credible reports that there are agents who can get people on to the Ministry of Higher Education lists for bribes in several lakhs. “In the times of the previous government, the Minister of Higher Education, Minister of Local government and our Vice Chancellor worked collaboratively in the recruitment of staff [through these lists]. Sending the list to the party office to have it vetted, having names removed and added there, and getting approval for the amended list from the Minister of Higher Education, were all ordinary every day events those days. This time too we understand that the original list has been sent and an amended list received,” the statement said.
According to the union, with a new Vice Chancellor expected to be chosen in mid-2017, it appears that even some Deans are supporting the Ministry list to gain favour.
jen / March 10, 2016
He is small version of MR clan… He is the Minister and sits on the high chair…. His Family and close friends hold all the key positions in his ministry and robbing the country dry…. Son in Law is the chairman of Maganeguma daughter consultant… the even ask kappas through their friends to release payment to Creditors…
What an irony of Yahapalana
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Amarasiri / March 10, 2016
jen
RE: Higher Education Ministry Is Like A Job Bank: Jaffna University Union
“University of Jaffna Employees’ Union today charged that the Ministry of Higher Education was functioning like a typical job bank.”
Yes. Expose, Expose and Expose.
They want to turn it into a government corporation,a government department, a govt, owned bank or a Govt. owned airline.
Can the Sri Lankan Universities be an Island of Meritocrity* surrounded by Mediocrity? With Lakhsman Buruella?
* Meritocracy is where positions of power are given to whose with superior intelligence or achievements.
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viy7 / March 10, 2016
Nepotism, anyone? :) …. These politicos’ are all the same: they make hay while the sun is shining………
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Dev / March 10, 2016
Sri Lankan public University problems deeper than Minister’s letter and real academics have to talk about the core of the problem not the symptoms: You need to sack all fake profs, Senior Lecturers and follow international criteria to appoint them: In order to be a real international professor your PhD from world top 100 University, minimum 20 articles in ISI/SCOPUS indexed journals, 10 text books with international publishers and three countries have to appoint you as a Visiting professor. But all these Sri Lankan Professors are jokers and more than 40% University Lecturers are relatives to each others and they give degrees to each other (Husband gives PhD to wife and girlfriend/mistress getting PG degree, sons, daughter and son-in law and daughter- in-law). MY3 clean University system and sack fake professors and University mafia system. Some Dept are family trees. We very well know how they recruit and promoted in University Mafia. First find a person and then advertise according to his/her requirement and send aboard for their friends’ places for PhDs through foreign aids projects they keep privately. Go beyond Sri Lanka and see International job market. Even in Middle East job market, without PhD from accredited Western University you cannot become even Assistant Lecturer. But in Sri Lanka more than 80% professors do not have PhD. The countries they (University teachers) go to do higher studies, no person is going to studies: China, Malaysia, Thailand and India now many are doing PhDs locally in their own work places or under friends and lovers. See Arts faculties all the recruitment are done in outdoor connections and son and his friends, sex workers, henchmen, powerful peoples sons and daughters got as lecturers. Even PhD applications outright they rejected at Dept level and only interview called for these people. This happen in all Universities. Without any of the above International criteria many promoted as Senior Professors are in all faculties.Check Ruhuna University and Colombo University Economics Depts then you will see real situation.
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Dr.Rajasingham Narendran / March 10, 2016
Dev,
What you have revealed is explosive. Now I can understand why the products are what they are. How can this stinky mess be cleared?
Dr.RN
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Inspector Dirty Hari / March 11, 2016
Dr RN,
“Now I can understand why the products are what they are.”
The products are worse in the rural universities that have even less qualified staff.The situation is not the fault of the products and better staff might quite simply not be available.
If you take a look at the qualifications of the youngish lecturers of Jaffna University you will become depressed. We can only pray for a miracle after the more competent seniors retire during the next years.
“How can this stinky mess be cleared?”
Massive investment on better quality of the academic staff but that means money. Is there political will to pay more for the academics?
I wonder if our rural universities will ever manage to compete with is offered abroad.
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Inspector Dirty Hari / March 11, 2016
Dev,
“Senior Lecturers and follow international criteria to appoint them: In order to be a real international professor your PhD from world top 100 University, minimum 20 articles in ISI/SCOPUS indexed journals, 10 text books with international publishers and three countries have to appoint you as a Visiting professor.”
How many persons like this are willing to work in Sri Lanka especially outside of the megapolis area universities?
How many academics meet your criteria today?
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Hemantha / March 11, 2016
You are very correct. Many lecture in Sri Lankan universities do their master or PhD degree locally. If someone wants to get PhD from Malysian Universities or top university in manland China, he/she should publish 2 or 3 research papers top level journals (indexed in SSCI and SCI). But, most lecture in Sri Lankan universities get postgraduate degree in locally without good publications. Many professors in Sri Lanka universities do not have single publication in SCI or SSCI journal. I spoke with a dean one of famous university and he critized international university ranking systems such as Times and QS. But, I know these ranking systems are very fair and give lot of weight for research work and internationalitation of the university. That man does not published single paper in SCI and SSCI indexed journals. How Sri Lankan universities improve their ranking with such a professors.
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Former JU Staffer / March 10, 2016
Public funds are freely used to reward friends in our universities.
[Edited out]
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Dr. Rajasingham Narendra / March 10, 2016
Yahapalanaya is unable to teach its old dogs new tricks! However, the big question is whether the president and PM try.This is one area Yahapalanaya should have touched first and made a difference. Why cannot the president and PM issue clear instructions on the do’s and dont’s to their Ministers and Parliamentarians, and make these instructions public. They should also give instructions that they should not open their mouths to pontificate on matters they know little
and justify the unjustifiable.
Dr.Rajasingham Narendran
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Nuwan / March 10, 2016
Yes, old dogs can never deliver yahapalanaya. A new set of faces and code of ethics based on principles can do. But whatever happened to Anura Kumara’s work on code of conduct?
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Jim softy / March 10, 2016
Every one come and complain the govt.
but, they don’t want to know that every ministry is like this. Every department is full of extra people. they don’t have any contribution.
No one is asking about changing the system.
Instead blame.
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Ruvan / March 11, 2016
These cabinet idiots got the political power about a year ago but without any clear plan. They were not sure if they would ever be able to win against the Rajapaksas. Now that they have won, they still suffer from fear psychosis. They still get up with nightmares in the morning. Some of them are sleepwalking with the same nightmares for the rest of the day. Look at both President Srisena and PM Wickremasinghe; I empathize with their sorry states. The West should provide them with psychiatric help in the first place to overcome this mental fear!
Therefore, the US, UN, and their western supporters should bring them one by one to London or Washington for a crash course and teach them how to prepare a national plan to govern the country without harming the culture and values of the general public. I repeat the phrase ‘without harming’ since these guys have no clue what culture and values mean to a country and the nation.
It should not be like the Dominant Paradigm the West tried to transplant in so-called developing countries after the 2nd WW. It should be one that comes from within the Public.
My worry is: if they continue to act like this, they will make a big mess and end up in public hell-hole! (They are already halfway to it)!
Currently the American administration seems to have given them only one piece of advice: marginalize the Chinese and obey the Indians.
PM and his cabinet idiots follow this advice like a herd of sheep but act like jokers in Parliament when questioned about ECTA and the proposed Indo-Lanka bridge. Their speeches are terribly worded with neither convincing beginnings nor nation-friendly conclusions. They cannot make straight decisions because of their Yahapalana half-brothers who tease them constantly. In short, they just speak like kids who plan to play hide and seek and finally get caught.
Majority Sri Lankans with many academics and Buddhist monks have already suspected their plan and the noisy voices of the so-called Joint Opposition are working overtime to reveal every aspect of this ‘conspiracy’ against their own country.
It is true that many Sri Lankans believe they were able to safeguard Buddhism and 26-century old friendly culture from foreign invaders in the past because they existed as a separate island from the Indian subcontinent. Buddha was an Indian but India and average Indians could not save valuable teachings from the cast-cracy Brahmins and invading Muslims. Sri Lankans teach and learn this Indian history and feel sorry about the average 1 billion Indians.
The current Indian envoy has already acted like the proverbial tortoise that tried to scold mischievous school boys who made fun of its flight when it was being carried from an abandoned lake to a resourceful one by two friendly cranes with the help of a stick. The two cranes gave clear advice to the tortoise not to open its mouth en-route before their spectacular flight but the idiot got mad at boys, open its mouth to scold them. You know what happened afterwards. Indian envoy’s arrogance has already backfired!
If Indian administration acts like this Sri Lanka will be in the lap of the Chinese like a napping newborn sooner than later.
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