Says, the Minister used ‘strong an unacceptable’ language

By Aisha Nazim

The Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) vehemently condemned Higher Education Minister, S.B. Dissanayake’s responses to the lecturers’ demands.

FUTA Spokesperson, Dr. Mahim Mendis, said the Minister of Higher Education used strong and unacceptable language when addressing the academics.

“Even in public, he calls us conspirators and people who run after dollars. He has also threatened to make us return to work. This type of language and threats are even below the level of a junior minister, and definitely not acceptable from the Higher Education Minister,” he said.

Speaking further, he said that though talks with Economic Development Minister, Basil Rajapaksa and Treasury Secretary, Dr. P.B. Jayasundera were conducted in a cordial manner, FUTA and the government are yet to reach an agreement.

“We have come to a very decisive stage; universities have collapsed and even the students are agitating now. But, instead of finding a solution and looking into the reasons for these problems, the relevant authorities are finding all sorts of excuses and laying the blame on everyone else,” Dr. Mendis charged.

Referring to the closure and the sudden reopening of the universities, he said that the State universities are not the personal property of the Higher Education Ministry and should not be closed and reopened according to the whims and fancies of the minister. 

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