Campus violence

Hardly has the dust settled in the rumpus at the Kelaniya campus than we have another eruption at the Sabaragamuwa University this time between two student factions that have forced the closure of two faculties.

What is interesting is that the clashes had taken place over some dispute connected to an inter-faculty sportsmeet of the University. This goes to show that what is needed is a spark from whatever the source for our universities to erupt into violence, which to say the least is a very dangerous trend.

Monday’s incident goes to show that even an innocuous event such as sports competition can be a fair game for students to exploit their advantage to settle scores. It is a sign that violent agitation can be sparked off on the flimsiest pretext at the Universities and it need not necessarily be politically motivated protests leading to violent unrest in our seats of higher learning.

This indeed is a dangerous trend that should engage the serious attention of the authorities. For, if so-called educated and enlightened sections - as university students are generally held - can go on the rampage at the flimsiest excuse there is no guessing what the situation will be with the lesser minions. This can only lead to all round indiscipline and even anarchy.

It can only bode ill towards efforts to convert the country into a model state of disciplined and law abiding citizens now that the war and its fallout is behind us. Student violence in campuses if left to go unchecked any longer would not only be a bad influence down the line affecting the future generation but could also give rise to a different form of terrorism at a time the country is emerging into a new phase of peace after three decades of a bloody war.

True, universities cannot function in tight compartments and students are sensitive to the political and social forces outside their study environment. Young students too are idealistic and some form of aggressive behaviour is only to be expected. But there is a strict line to be drawn between student activism and outright violence that alas has been the sad scenario in our universities over the years.

It is also well known that today, university students are being used as a cat’s paw by sinister forces to achieve their political ends. These elements do not care for the future of these students so long as their vile objectives are achieved. Students brimming with idealism too fall easy prey to these forces and do their bidding.The pattern of campus violence in the recent past demonstrates this trend.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has vowed to declare his next war against waste, corruption, drugs, the illicit liquor industry and the breakdown in the law and order. Ideally, he should add to this list the eradication of campus violence that has been developing into a cancer ruining the future of many a bright prospect.

How much the country has lost due to the flight of promising students to other countries due to the unsettled conditions in our universities is anyone’s guess.

Suffice it to say that this does not hold good for the President’s oft repeated desire to use local expertise and professionals in the massive rebuilding program earmarked for post war Sri Lanka. Therefore, the time has come for the President no less to take a fresh view of the developments in our universities and action taken to stem the rot.

The country has gone through enough violence without another flank opening up in the form of university unrest. Besides our Police and Armed Forces deserve a well earned rest instead of being forced into battle campus terrorism.

It is time our Universities reviewed their role and transform themselves into be more dynamic players in the country’s future progress especially in the post-war phase of Sri Lanka. For this, a complete overhaul in the thinking of both students and the authorities is called for.

Hence it is vital that all our educational institutions be allowed to function without hindrance so that our youth will attain their full potential making the President’s dream a reality.

At the same time, it would only be fair that the Government addresses the grievances of the University students before they could fall prey to disruptive elements and ruin the prospects of the country developing her own pool of talent that could even rival the best in the world.