Undergrads' terrorism reigns supreme in universities

Human values down in the dumps:

M. Azhar Dawood

The Government of the day is engaged in a right royal battle with the country's decades-long terrorism unleashed by the LTTE in the name of liberating the Tamil people. In recent times, the terrorist organisation has taken a severe beating, and sooner or later, it has to meet its waterloo.

I have brought the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam into the picture to the important Daily News debate, because I sometimes keep on wondering, whether the monster of terrorism has spread its vicious tentacles, slowly and steadily, to the hallowed groves of academe.

Before the killer disease spreads its cancerous root further and kill the fabric of the academic institutions, it is incumbent on the part of the powers-that-be to crack down hard and nip in the bud the kind of terrorism that crop up at the drop of a hat in these places.

Free education, considered the pearl of a great price, has been the harbinger of all the children, from the primary up to the university. Our country's youth have been sustained, nurtured and nourished through the provision of free education, maintained at great cost with the taxpayers' money, even before the time the country obtained her independence.

What is the scenario today? There is vandalism. There is vulgarism. There is rowdyism, hooliganism and terrorism under the open umbrella of freedom.

Those selected, the cream of the youth, should consider themselves fortunate to have gained admission for an academic course. In the past, universities were few and most of the students came from the middle and upper middle class homes. They were mostly from good schools.

Their upbringing, the values they displayed and the standards they maintained were excellent and indeed of a high order, except for a very few black sheep. They belonged to a different era. Gone are the days.

When they came out of the universities, most of them were not square pegs in round holes. They could seek public/private sector employment and prove their mettle. Some enriched the public life of the country while others shone in the professions. They brought honour and dignity, winning accolades allround in their chosen fields.

In quite contrast, most of the present day graduates cannot hold a candle to those of the past generation. The majority of the present day undergrads come from rural areas of poor families.

One could say that the majority of the rural youth constitute the undergraduate population in the country. These young men and women have problems, domestic, social, psychological, financial, etc. There is no doubt about that. Further, they nurse grievances against society and harbour grudges against fellow students and superiors. This is why they are in the midst of every minor and major problems.

They know their social backgrounds. They do not command a sufficient knowledge of English. They are aware their future employment prospects are bleak. They know their limits which are unable to fulfil their ambitions.

Their negative feelings have a great impact on their psyche. In the midst of English speaking groups, they fell they are inferior.

In elite company, they are fish out of water. A respected academic observed, a few years ago, most of them suffer from inferiority complex. This is the reason why they often challenge authority and assert their rights on filmsy grounds to pronounce their 'importance' breaking all norms, and decency.

They think by resorting to thuggery and dictating terms would pep up their image and boost their mentality. This is their shallow thinking. They believe deviant behaviour is one of the ways to get the maximum attention to give them some 'respectability'.

No doubt, there should be freedom to ventilate their grievances. There should be no obstacles or hindrances from any quarter to stop student activities, protest or demonstration, as it would impinge on their democratic and human rights.

However, freedom does not mean they can go berserk and run amok like an enraged bull; nor does it mean they can go on the rampage. If human beings behave like bestial brutes, discipline, decency and cherished human values suffer immensely.

It is very, very unfortunate the undergrads have, more often than once, exceeded their bounds by atrocious and derogatory behaviour which has left a sour taste in the mouth of all concerned.

In the last few years and in most recent times, most of the universities have become trouble spots, disrupting the smooth functioning of these places. The sequence of reprehensible incidents that have taken place owing to the belligerence of undergrads in different universities at different times have turned these places into a 'burning cauldron'.

Their rude and crude behaviour has gained notoriety and annoyed old sections of society, earning them revulsion and condemnation. Their ability to generate hostility among fellow students is another admirable quality among them. The generosity of the state in providing free education has been trampled underfoot and put into the dustbin by reckless vandalism. Their credo, might is right.

In an academic year, how many times some universities are kept closed. Every time some problem crops up somewhere. Never a day passes without an incident or a problem being highlighted in the media.

There have been instances where campuses have been kept closed for a long time. Constant bickering and in-fights between rival groups is one of the reasons. what are the repercussions of constant closure? Academic studies are disrupted and examinations get postponed. What is its implication? The majority who are inclined to study and pass their exams have to kick their heels at home.

Precious student hours are lost and wasted. On the other hand, perpetrators are happy having caused the sabotage. They enjoy sadistic pleasure for the closure which would be effected when they cause problems. This is their style.

They know how to manoeuvre the vehicle of university education. Of course, there is an unseen hand behind every disruption to serve their partisan political agendas. The silent majority have to grin and bear.

Let me digress for a moment to speke about-another aspect. Our doctors (products of free education) who have taken the hippocratic Oath would down their scapels at the drop of a hat, putting to jeopardy the lives of many poor patients.

The GMOA would look after the members if any repercussion arises as a result of the strike. There are other muscle wielding trade unions in state sector organisations who resort to this activity.

We all have bitter memories of wild cat intermittent strikes at the CEB, ports, railways, bus, banks, postal, etc, causing a body blow to the ailing economy. In similar vein, campus students flex their muscles to disrupt academic activities.

The Inter-university students federation is the Guardian Angel of undergrads to browbeat and bludgeon the university administration and the government. This is the monster student union that play havoc and terrorise all and sundry. in the name of freedom, to rectify injustice. O'Tempora, O'mores! for God's sake, weed out the trouble makers who are a disgrace to society.

These mischievous miscreants through union muscle have started to dictate terms. They have begun to command and demand illogical requests. if not complied with, they descend to the lowest depths of indecency.

Indiscipline, even to the extent of taking the Vice Chancellor or any other person hostage, and subjecting them to all forms of humiliation and degradation. They enjoy these to their heart's content. Decency and decorum are thrown overboard.

Respect and dignity of the holder of the post take a severe beating. Human values, ethical standards are dumped into the dustbin. These "mafia types" who run amok like bestial brutes and terrorise the hierarchy have proved a thorn to University administration, and are behind every rumpus in the campus.

The word negotiation is foreign to some of the trade unions in this country. To our inferior complex students, it is Greek. The former believe in wild cat strikes. The latter believe in terror tactics of hostage, rampage, hooliganism and violence.

The recent incident at the Perdeaniya University is a good example. A handful of misled and ungrateful students protested violently against naming the new hostel after Sir Ivor Jennings whose name is synonymous with the University. These "ruffian types" try to teach grandmothers to suck eggs. In the name of freedom, they indulge in these "crazy anties" to boost their ego only to end up in remand custody, suffering shame and guilt while some had to apologise for their misdemeanours.

Sir Ivor Jennings may be a white-skinned foreigner. But he is still revered and held in high esteem. When one speaks of the history of this University, you have to hark back to the name of Sir Ivor Jennings who had contributed immensely in establishing the first residential University in the country.

What is the harm in naming a hostel after this great man. Why should some, receiving eduction at state expense, interfere in Administration? They seek "freedom" to poke their fingers at every pie. They yearn for "open licence" to run universities to suit their whims and fancies. Then the academic staff have to stay at home either to play marbles or dice with their better halves!

This is one instance of unwarranted interference. There are others to highlight, but constraint of space compels me to cut short. These misled youths under the "cloak of undergrads" cause mischief and interfere in activities that do not come under their purview.

Where else you find this type of unbridled freedom? Their action is highly reprehensible and should be condemned in no unmistakable terms. This type of midsummer madness is rampant in our universities.

The University authorities should not be sitting ducks, but wield their stick to good effect to bring reason and sanity. These miscreants should be meted out with condign punishment that would act as a deterrent to others of their ilk in other universities.

There are unseen hands behind these unsavoury episodes as most of the youth are misled by bankrupt and disgruntled elements who want to promote their brand of violence for petty political mileage.

Who is behind the recent drama at the Sabaragamuwa University? Despite the firm assurance of the Administration to provide accommodation and requesting them to vacate the premises, the students were adamant and were forcibly occupying it. They defied the order of the superior authority in flagrant violation of the law.

We have to admit that university students have difficulties and problems. The most common is accommodation, others being facilities like travelling, library, food and money. Most of the Arts students know well their future is not so bright and rosy as they are unemployable.

Their degree qualification is a mismatch for the employment needs of the country. The biggest bugbear is that they are not proficient in English, nor in computer science-two pre-requisites for employment anywhere.

The private sector recruits youth who are qualified in these fields. Those in the faculties of Engineering, medicine, management, computer science have a better chance of employment after graduation. Since the vast majority of Arts students have dim prospects, it is important to give them job-oriented training with English and Computer studies.

University education needs a through overhaul. A developing country like Sri Lanka needs trained personnel to handle jobs in various sectors. Trained manpower is a sine quo non for the job market. Higher education is not geared to serve the needs of the country.

Arts graduates are turned out in Universities, year in and year out, like soap in factories. Current curricula need a thorough scrutiny for revision and reform to meet the challenges and modern day needs of the country. Existing loopholes in the law pertaining to University administration should be closed, if necessary amended to transform them to respected seats of learning.

At the same time, other ills that afflict the universities like indiscipline, vandalism, thuggery, violence, and constant closure as a result of these, need serious study and stringent legislation.

It is the consensus of all, that those mischief makers who are behind the disruption of education, should be booted out lock, stock and barrel.

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Political activism in universities: Is it permissible?

A few days ago, our university system marked five years of one of the most horrific and deplorable incidents that ever took place in its history. November 7, 2002 was the day that saw the brutal murder of young O.V. Samantha by a student group from his own university within the university premises itself.

The incident which shook the conscience of all Sri Lankans alike and sent shockwaves among the university community was probably the clearest manifestation of the role of political activism and rivalry in our present higher education system.

The violent clashes between student groups or 'unions' aligned with rival political parties which preceded Samantha's killing, the gruesome act that resulted in his untimely death, not to forget the manner in which his death was used to gain political mileage by certain segments, are ample proof of the extent to which the 'festering cancer' of political activism has eaten into our present university system.

Of further significance is the fact that the rift which claimed Samantha's life originated in a disagreement between the two student groups over 'ragging', a degrading and often inhumane practice promoted by certain student 'unions' directly or indirectly linked with leading political parties in the country.

In the light of these events, it would hardly be surprising if one questions as to whether political activism should be permitted in our universities any longer, given the damage it has already caused.

Yet, as discussed earlier, many would agree that a vibrant student community, especially in a country like Sri Lanka where only the creme de la creme of the students qualify for university education, is vital for the proper functioning of a democracy.

Permitting students to engage in political dialogues and understand different political ideologies would, if not misused, promote values like free thought, free expression and the right of dissent.

Send in your views on the above issues to Daily News Debate. Your contributions numbering 750-1,000 words should be sent to Daily News Debate, 35, D.R. Wijewardene Mawatha, Colombo 10 and by email to [email protected]

Student unions need to focus on sensible objectives

D. H. Sathischandra

The Oxford Dictionary defines activism as "the use of vigorous campaigning to bring about political or social change." Civic activism generally takes place at the society level, rarely and occasionally, at university level.

Here, in Sri Lanka it is a common phenomenon, because political parties have student wings as opposed to youth wings and student unions which are intended to serve other purposes pursue the agendas of political parties. In view of the nature of activism, a university is not the place for such activism.

Students have to gain knowledge, skills, attitudes and values to equip themselves adequately to perform their role in society as responsible citizens and as civil activists, if necessary.

As students they need to familiarise themselves with the various paradigms and concepts; political, scientific, social, cultural and so on that emerged from time to time in human history and how some paradigms give way to others with growth and progress.

But as students they need to do 'first things first', that is, to complete their university education as graduates fully equipped to face the challenges in society.

There is another compelling reason why political activism of the sort experienced in universities is damaging to all stakeholders in a university, management, students, teachers and above all to the reputation of the university itself.

The key stakeholder in education is the students as they are the beneficiaries. Their employability in the job market will depend primarily on the quality and standards of education and the university's reputation and excellence.

The university environment has changed significantly over the last two decades. There are several public universities in the country. In this highly competitive environment, students have a stake in the quality of education and the reputation of their university.

The main goal of a student union should therefore be to promote the quality and standards of education and the reputation and image of their university, if they focus on 'first things first'.

The quality of education in their university could be affected by a multiplicity of factors. Inadequate funding for infrastructure, facilities and teachers, increase in intake of students without corresponding increase in other facilities, the quality and number of teachers, the quality of library facilities, the quality of curricula and so on. Apart from these problems there is disruption of academic activities caused by the students themselves.

Clashes between student unions, student factions and the resultant indiscipline and violence causing damage to property lead to closure of universities reducing teaching and study time and disrupting scheduled examinations. Students also participate in external demonstrations and protests over issues which are not directly related to students.

Lectures are further reduced. As a result the course content and duration get drastically reduced affecting the quality and standards of education and the employability of students. Employers' perception of degree holders of universities which are often closed down due to indiscipline and violence would be negative.

There are many desirable activities that student unions could engage in. Various ideologies and economic systems could be studied by students. They also could engage in a dialogue on the merits and demerits of every ideology or system and their performance at the empirical level.

The present tendency to suppress other ideologies or systems other than the one they promote is not consistent with the goals and the spirit of university education. Freedom of speech and expression and dissemination and exchange of ideas and views is essential in an academic environment.

Students unions can also suggest, improvements in teaching methods in ways that would stimulate, students to search for information and knowledge on their own instead of depending too much on lecture notes and research and creativity, whatever their field of study, programs for computer literacy, English knowledge, mind power and positive thinking, communication skills and attitudes and their general knowledge.

This changed role could create and environment in which academic and scholastic activities thrive and contribute to produce graduates who are smart, fast thinking, creative and employable.

As the beneficiary of university education, the unions need to review their existing roles and focus more on sensible objectives of developing and maintaining their university's reputation as a centre of excellence in education.

The students' role in this matter is equally important as that of the university management. A quality degree should be their immediate goal and they can get involved in politics if they so desire after their university education.

They could even influence policy making in political parties of their choice, if they have a broadbased knowledge, which has kept abreast of continuing development in their own field of study and supplemented by general knowledge of trends both within and outside the country and expand their circle of influence.

Otherwise they will end up as yes men in their own parties with the leaders running the show as they please.