By Colombo Telegraph –
Secretary of Finance and Planning P.B. Jayasundera yesterday wrote a letter to FUTA president Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri explaing medium term framework relating to remuneration related aspects of the university academic staff.
The letter says it is further to follow up meeting held between the officials team of the government , led by Secretary of Finance and Planning and the FUTA, led by Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri regarding remuneration related aspects of university academic staff , and the follow –up decision taken by the Cabinet of Ministers at its meeting held on 29th August 2012 connected with Government’s commitment to provide enhanced resources for education and human resources development.
Read the original letter here
Justice / October 10, 2012
PBJ’s reply amounts to effective procrastination with nothing concrete
promised,postponing the decision making until unspecified further dates.
FUTA is being “led up the garden path”.
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Upali Wijewardene / October 11, 2012
Bloody University hypocrites. Took the whole nation on a wild goose chase. They would be better off doing some kind of a street job than handle the cradle of our education. So sorry how selfish these people could be
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gamini / October 11, 2012
A covicted fraudster, serving under the regime of a Tsunami Fund Embezzler and a Confirmed Murderer/Liar/Thug acting as President of Sri Lanka.
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Leela / October 11, 2012
I have always suspected that, that 6% demand by Dons is a cover to deceive the public. I thought they wanted to continue their strike to get yet another pay hike, or instigate other public servants to demand salary increases, or get people to streets and pave way for their much dreamed Arab spring and destabilize the country.
Surely Dons should have known that the government can never ever agree to politically motivated demands like 6% of GDP for education.
Sure, education must be free for everyone up to a certain level. But how could we expect government to have resources to educate everyone who pass three A/L at a university for free. Why not well to do people pay for their children’s University education like in most countries. And not so well-to-do people must be provided with a mixture of loans and scholarship and to payback afterwords. And private universities should be there and state universities must be geared to cater for that. Just like the way people opt to pay for private hospitals.
Now back to FUTA. Hundred days have passed, road parades have ended, but sympathy for the strike has not materialized as expected. On the contrary, topsy-turvy priorities of strikers have made the strike passed the climax stage and started to skid it downhill.
So we are not surprised to hear that Dons are to end their strike. Did they get their addendum demand fulfilled or at least near 6% that they yelled is a must to end the strike? No. If so, the had been a failure and a waste. Hence, Dons who were on strike shouldn’t be paid.
In my opinion, the strike is just another sham like the claim that they say, most Dons would have gone abroad if their salaries were not increased. Sure salaries must be increased but only in proportion to that of other professions. If Dons claim that they are in a special category, then they must prove it. Whether they are making good enough contributions as their counterparts elsewhere, and they are qualified enough for that claim, and their fields has a demand to secure jobs abroad as they say, must be debated earnestly.
Somehow, with all those tricks and threats, I say; Dons got an unreasonable increase to their salaries in the end. Unreasonable, because Dons had not volunteered/agreed to improve productivity and/or performance of their profession by way of added work or extracurricular activities or any-other way.
In my opinion, most of them would continue to stay put where they were and carry-on preaching their old notes to produce more and more unemployable graduates (paper pushers) who would be a burden to the country.
Without waving wild cards, Dons should come up with a detailed plan and strategy for new research in every field to help improve the production and productivity of the country. That way, they would have earned a respect in addition to their salary increases.
Leela
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Gemini / October 11, 2012
To do research in every fields, university dons will have to sell their “Balls” to get funds for their research, as the government does not allocate adequate funds to research.
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sams / October 14, 2012
Did the dons gets a salary increase? Didnt sound that way on tv.
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gert / October 14, 2012
Detailed plans, my eye!! What makes you think the govt actually wants to give anything to anyone?
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Lanka / October 16, 2012
Everyone knows that government can not provide free education for all A/L qualified students. Sri Lanka needs private universities and these universities should come under trusty. It should not profit oreinted. Sri Lankan government and MOHE should set-up regulatory body to control non-state universities/companies who offer degrees in Sri Lanka. Otherwise, Sri Lankan heigher education may collapse soon.
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leel / October 11, 2012
Congratulation you got nothing will get nothing.
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The deceived / October 11, 2012
FUTA has been given a deal which will not be dealt. PBJ has succeeded in what SBD and BR could not succeeded. FUTA has betrayed our hopes for higher investment for education. Shame!
We regret what happened to two youngsters who gave their lives for the sake of FUTA. We regret the undergraduates whose results are delayed due to this massive betrayal.
After all if this decision is the end result it shows how weak the state administration is, because such a decision should have been made within three days of the strike. It is simple eyewash!
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Lasantha Pethiyagoda / October 11, 2012
The national budget allocation of 6% of GDP to education would be made possible with a fraction of government revenue from corporate taxes, which should have increased on par with the high economic growth achieved in the last few years and a per capita income of about USD2800. I believe that the treasury secretary would be aware of the arithmetic in this regard.
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Peter / October 11, 2012
“The deceived” says:
“We regret what happened to two youngsters who gave their lives for the sake of FUTA.”
FUTA cannot be blamed for the two youngsters who were killed (but were claimed as met with accident).
As usual no proper inquiry will be held and truth will not be known,
until the present dicatorial regime is replaced.
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Rubert Vanderkoon / October 11, 2012
Al Sharpton said, “It is true that Mr. Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, after which there was a commitment to give 40 acres and a mule. That’s where the argument, to this day, of reparations starts. We never got the 40 acres. We went all the way to Herbert Hoover, and we never got the 40 acres. We didn’t get the mule.”
See the remarkable resemblance 150 years apart! There it was 40 acres,a mule and Herbert Hoover and here it has been a 6%, a pay hike and Galle to Ambalangoda.
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Sunila Mendis / October 13, 2012
Do not blame FUTA for not winning their demands for a salary increase and 6% allocation for Education.Govt’s strategy was to wait till the energy of FUTA dissipated and the membership pressurises FUTA to give up the struggle.Now Secretary to the Treasury gives a vague assurance that the salaries will be revised and investment on education will be enhanced.FUTA had no other alternative but give up the struggle as they have forgone 3 months salary.I blame FUTA for not thinking strtegically about their demands without falling prey to the machinations of the Govt.Govt on the otherhand has once again displayed their arrogance and inflexibility to be humane to the plight of children’s education.Now people think that FUTA’s concerns were only about their salaries and not on 6% for education.This is what the Govt wants people to believe.Leela’s comment on FUTA action reveals the ulterior motive of the Govt.
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