Academia as special category:

Cabinet nod for joint memorandum

Nadira GUNATILLEKE

Cabinet approval was granted for a joint memorandum presented by Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa and Higher Education Minister S B Dissanayake to treat academia of the universities as a special category, Cabinet Spokesman and Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said.

He said the government has done this by offering the maximum that can be offered and hoping that the academics will return to work.

He was addressing the weekly Cabinet press briefing at the Media Ministry auditorium yesterday.

Minister Rambukwella said that those with excellent academic careers can be retained in the universities and also intelligentsia serving overseas can be induced to return to the country.

The cabinet has also decided to appoint a high powered committee to monitor the implementation of the proposals agreed between the university academic staff and the authorities concerned.

Minister Rambukwella pointed out that since the intention of the government is to develop Sri Lanka as a Knowledge Hub, the proposal made in the memorandum to set up a Presidential Commission to make recommendations on reforms that should be introduced to the entire education system and on measures that should be adopted to retain the autonomy of universities, was also endorsed. It was also agreed that there should be an effective dialogue with the university academia and acknowledged the need for making university academia active players of the development strategy of the government.

"If there is a political agenda, nothing will work out. Special category does not mean that they are included in essential services. Six per cent allocation for education is not an accurate indicator because this belongs to developed countries.

'The other fact is the percentage allocated to education by budget in Sri Lanka has been calculated inaccurately without considering the amount of funds allocated by the Finance Commission through Provincial Councils. Today the highest salaries are earned by judiciary service and ministers' salaries were not increased along with the salaries of the Supreme Court judges," he said.

"It was done in response to a request made by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, "Minister Rambukwella stressed.