Wednesday, 13 November 2002  
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Remedying violence in universities

At a time when what is popularly referred to as "finger-pointing" has taken on the proportions of almost a national pastime it is encouraging to note the willingness on the part of no less a person than a Minister of State to acknowledge responsibility for matters coming under his purview. Referring to the brutal murder of undergraduate Samantha at the Sri Jayewardenepura University, Tertiary Education and Training Minister Kabeer Hashim was reported saying: "We are all responsible for what has happened. It is very sad to note that a student who opposed ragging had to die such a brutal death. We must act to stop this."

While admiring the Minister's willingness to take on some of the blame for lapses on the part of the administrative system at the university, for the gruesome tragedy which has occurred, we wish to add that the best Lanka's body politic could do at this juncture is not to allow Samantha to have died in vain.

True, Samantha was the victim of a ghoulish brand of politics which has time and again tyrannised Lanka's public arena, but there is no gainsaying the fact that some administrative and other lapses which are inherent in the university system would have facilitated the murder.

This accounted for the emergency meeting Minister Hasheem convened among university Vice Chancellors and other officials in the immediate aftermath of the murder. The principal objective of the meeting was to close loopholes in the way university affairs are administered. For instance, it is clear that a number of outsiders had taken abode in the university in question prior to the disturbances. Couldn't this have been prevented? If these outsiders were found in the halls of residence, for instance, why weren't they asked to account for their presence?

Plugging these administrative loopholes is one way in which positive use could be made of the lessons of the tragedy. Such stringent remedial action would ensure that such convulsions do not occur in the future, although the life of the victim is priceless, and the incident should never have taken place, to begin with.

Nevertheless, it is encouraging to note that the cluster of problems associated with the tragedy is receiving the attention of the authorities. Although such remedial measures would smack of the proverbial farm door being bolted after the escape of the horse, the relevant administrative actions need to be taken to ensure that the majority of university undergraduates, who are peace-loving, would be allowed to pursue their academic careers, undisturbed.

The initiation of sound remedial measures would depend on the support extended to them by the academic and administrative staff of universities. Minister Hasheem made the relevant point that violence in our universities has reached such daunting proportions that the academic and administrative staff of universities do not wish to get involved in stamping it out.

There is a risk involved in making generalisations of this kind, for, there are many duty-conscious academics in our universities, for instance, but the point could be taken that nothing substantive is being done to stem the rot which has crept into these seats of higher learning. If this was not the case the problems affecting universities wouldn't have grown so dauntingly.

So one of the most urgent chores for the academic and administrative staff of our universities is to take a greater and livelier interest in what is happening in their immediate environments. If sizeable opposition is built to the abomination of violence and ragging and all civilised forces in our universities are mustered for the purpose, the chances of ragging being perpetrated could be minimised.

This is a question of moral commitment. Those responsible for guiding "their flock" in our universities, cannot afford to look the other way when the "sheep" in their charge tend to run amok.

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