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Salute to a pioneer

Yesterday marked the birth centenary of Prof. F.R. Jayasuriya pioneer educationist and champion of the underprivileged classes.

Many a tribute has been paid to this colossus who wrought a revolution in the country’s education sphere by breaking the monopoly of the elite and the privileged on higher education. Many of our village youth who later made it to the top in the various disciplines and professions owe their ascendency in life to the pioneering efforts of this unique individual and true patriot.

In fact it is his pioneering work which paved the way for realisation of the goals of free education introduced by Dr. C. W. W. Kannanagara. He fought tooth and nail with the colonial establishment of the day to break the stranglehold on higher education enjoyed by the privileged classes.

That was a time in the early 50s when the country was feeling the first pangs of independence which saw an awakening in many spheres such as the arts and culture. Prof. Jayasuriya took upon the mantle of fighting for education reforms and to open opportunities to the poor and marginalised youth, by providing them access to higher learning.

This was no easy task since the University system was loaded in favour of the elite and privileged sections of society.

His running battles with the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ceylon Sir Ivor Jennings demonstrated his spirit and resolve to break this monopoly and provide a place in the sun to poor and underprivileged sections the benefit of a higher education.

Prof. Jayasuriya saw through the ruse of colonial establishment to keep away the sons and daughters of the soil from cultivating an enlightened outlook brought about by access to higher learning, lest this would expose the injustice and discriminatory practices of the regime.

Not only the white colonists he even had to face the wrath of some of our own pukka sahibs who were kowtowing to the establishment with the same ulterior motive of keeping higher education as an elite preserve.

At the time the University system was designed purely to cater to the elite classes and intake was deliberately limited so as to shut off the poor underprivileged from access to higher education.

His indomitable spirit was always seeking ways to get around this hurdle and when his petition to let Universities award external degrees, to the State Council was rejected, he pioneered his Own University (in a hall atop some shops in Pettah) that saw the birth of the external degree in the country’s education set up. It not only opened avenues for the poor youth to equip them for the future but also helped those who were left out to catch up on their education.

As stated earlier many of the country’s sons and daughters who later went on to adorn the country’s civil service and the professions owe their positions to this pioneering effort of Prof. Jayasuriya. Generations of the youth to whom the University door was shut would remember him with gratitude and veneration for breaking the hegemonic system to favour a privileged few.

He pioneered the use of the mother tongue in Universities and authored the first text books in Sinhala for teaching economics to undergraduates.

He broke through the elite bastions of education and brought equality into the system.The country as a whole should remember the services of pioneers such as F. R. Jayasuriya more often lest their contribution to the nation’s evolution and progress would be forgotten in the cacophony of the present day.

Today with the development of communication and new frontiers breached in the field of education no thought is given to the ground work set by patriots such F. R. Jayasuriya to provide access to higher education to the remotest corners of the country.

Even the teaching fraternity today behave in a manner that does not do credit to the labour and sacrifice of this great educationist. They engage in strikes and sabotage exam markings which could only sully the work of these pioneers. The best tribute one could pay to Prof. F.R. Jayasuriya is to live by his ideals and continue his noble mission to keep his name alive for generations more.

Time to Act : The LTTE, it’s Front Organisations, and the challenge to Europe - I:

Global response to LTTE

Excerpts from address by Ravinatha Aryasinha, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the EU, Belgium and Luxembourg, at the EU-US International Seminar on the LTTE, held at the Europol Headquarters in the Hague, Netherlands, 9-10 Dec 2008.

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Kilinochchi and after


On November 27, 2008, Velupillai Prabhakaran, supremo of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, proclaimed in his annual Heroes’ Day message that the Sinhala State was “living in a dreamland of military victory.” He promised that it was “a dream from which it will awake.”

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Economic impact of LTTE defeat


The capture of Paranthan and Kilinochchi confirms that remaining strongholds of the LTTE Elephant pass and Mullaithivu would fall within a short period. This assessment also confirmed by many experts following events in the security section.

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