Colombo VC on academics’ strike:

FUTA approach ‘unusual’

CHAMIKARA WEERASINGHE

Colombo University Vice Chancellor Prof Kshanika Hirimburegama yesterday said the present strike by the Federation of University Teachers Associations (FUTA) is not usual for FUTA.

“They have never resorted to a strike action of this nature before,” Prof Hirimburegama said. “Besides they are persisting with their strike action while negotiations take place,”she said.

Asked if their demands were justifiable, Hirimburegama said most of their demands do not even come under their (FUTA’s) purview. FUTA has - among other things - demanded from the government that it should allocate six percent of the GDP for education.

“The academics have never neglected their duty to teach the students under any circumstances. They do not like what FUTA is doing. They are just going along because of their membership in FUTA,” she said.

“Undergraduate teaching is worst affected by the situation”.

Asked if she has any reasons to believe that FUTA is politically motivated to resort to such action, Prof Hirimburegama said there is some sort of motivation from outside, that they should act in an unlikely manner.

FUTA Secretary Terrance Madujith said one of their demands is to remove political influence in universities.

Asked if FUTA was without any political elements inside it, Madujit said, “ we have political elements in our organization, even some of our office bearers have political affiliations, but they operate within the policy framework of FUTA.”

“FUTA is not influenced by individual political agendas,”he explained. FUTA academics have put forward 41 demands.

Asked if they had agreed to discontinue their strike until the government studies their demands and declares what they would do about them, FUTA secretary Terrance Madujith said they plan to continue their trade union action until they get a favourable response from the government to their demands.