Restoring sanctity to Universities

Higher Education Minister S B Dissanayke is a politician who does not mince his words which have often attracted controversy. But all those who have the country's education at heart will salute his stance taken with regard to the country's universities - or more accurately the unrest in our universities.

Speaking at the launch of new diploma courses in Kandy, the Minister said the inability to differentiate between education and politics has pushed Sri Lanka's university education into a stinking mess.

Many would agree with the Minister on this score. Today, our Universities have become hotbeds of violence where radical politics have overtaken academic activities. Students have been used as cats paw by various political elements to whip up unrest which invariably leads to violence resulting in the intermittent closure of universities and the breakdown of all academic activities.

There was a time in the not too distant past when our universities were more closed than open putting paid to the dreams and aspiration of many parents as to the future of their offspring which forced the wealthy amongst them to pack off their children to foreign universities. There is no knowing the loss suffered by the country as a result of this flight of talent. The Minister's tough stance it is hoped will put a halt to the rotten state of affairs in our campuses and prevent the breakdown of our university education so that the maximum could be obtained from the country's free education system.

For this, the Minister should be extended all the assistance and co-operation by the relevant authorities. We say this because although we have an anti-ragging law this is still observed in the breach with the university authorities reluctant to go the whole hog.

It is also sad to note that in certain instances the university hierarchy too had pandered to the whims of the unruly elements in our campuses while others were reduced to mere spectators all of which went on to exacerbate the problem in our campuses. The riot act read by the Minister to the miscreants it is hoped would give strength to the university authorities to stand their ground and face up to the challenge.

The Minister has already pledged to eliminate ragging in universities which has been a perennial problem making many students shy away from entering our Universities. The Minister who is known to speak his mind had no hesitation in naming the JVP as the villain of the piece.

True, universities cannot function in a vacuum given their vary nature and structure and thus cannot entirely be freed of politics particularly of the radical type given the idealism of youth. Even in the good old days our universities had their fair share of politics and ragging was used as a baptism of sorts for freshers that was carried out within the norms of decency. In fact this is an ingrained system in the universities the world over and is even considered an antidote against inhibitions and reticence on the part of the freshers which would stand them in good stead.

But what we have been witnessing in our universities over the years certainly go against the grain of university traditions where ragging bordered on sadism and used as a tool by warped, repressed minds as an outlet for their frustrations.

As already mentioned, universities were used by certain political parties to further their agendas by misleading youth which led to long spells of unrest and violence in our campuses. Many theories were put forward by sociologists and various pundits as to the root cause of university unrest and violence which led even to loss of lives. These ranged from the background of the youth who mostly hailed from villages, to rebellion against the privileged class by the deprived sections. They also referred to insecurity entertained by those segments from the Arts faculties. The targeting of students following engineering and medical courses which offer rich opportunities compared to the rest was symptomatic of this. In short, the universities were known to be a microsome representing the agitation against the privileged class. This came as grist to the mill of wily politicians who exploited the situation to the hilt.

But universities are not places to play out grouses and grievances against each other and the sooner these elements are made to understand this the quicker the chances for our universities to reform themselves. For, there is no knowing the talent the country has lost due to unrest and violence in the universities over the years, especially at a time when the President is looking for local talent to be used in the country's development programs.

Perhaps Minister Dissanayake has taken cognisance of this and is determined make optimum use of the universities which are the fountains of talent.