• Some provisions in this bill are contrary to academic freedom
• Says KDU was started by the UNP Govt. in 1980

By Yohan Perera

The United National Party (UNP) yesterday urged the government to postpone the vote of the Kotelawala Defence University Bill (KDU) so that Consultative committee on Defence could discuss amendment and bring about a consensus on the legislation.

“The Defence University must function within a framework of a University. If higher education instruction is given within the military framework then it is a military academy. It is claimed that there are some provisions in this bill that are contrary to the academic freedom essential for a University. These must be amended. Otherwise, the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University will not be accepted as a genuine University. This can also affect its membership in the Commonwealth of Universities. The greatest harm to this University will not be from outside but by proceeding with this bill in its present form. Therefore, the UNP recommends that the second reading debate should not be concluded with a vote. Instead, the Parliamentary Consultative Committees of Defence and Education should convene a meeting and agree on the necessary amendments to ensure the existing institution is retained and academic freedom maintained. Thereafter these amendments can be introduced during the committee stage of the debate, the party said in an official statement.

“The General Sir John Kotelawala University was first started by the UNP Government in 1980 as a part of the armed forces modernisation scheme.

The University was established by the Military Academy Act of 1981 and the amending Acts of 1988 and 2007. Section 128 exempts the University from Section 123 of the Universities Act. In 2012 fee-paying students were admitted to this university. In 2017 the SAITM was incorporated into the General Sir John Kotelawala University. 
In 2018 a new Bill was gazetted by the then Government. Subsequent discussions with concerned parties identified defects that had to be rectified. Therefore the Government did not go ahead and present the Bill to Parliament for a second reading.

The major issues of concerns that required correction were as follows: This bill sort to de-establish the General Sir John Kotelawala University, which had been established by the laws mentioned above, and establish a new institution which would take on the name, the property and the legal liabilities of the previous institution. Therefore, the new University would have no connection with the academic achievements of the existing University.
This also creates a problem for those who have been avoided degrees by the University. There is also a question mark over whether the new University would be entitled to the high ranking obtained by the present institution, the statement said.

“The laws and charters governing Universities do not give the Minister the right to give instructions to a University. This is concrete to the principles establishing universities. In the case of the existing University, the majority of the board are officials from the Ministry of Defence. The Minister has the right to give instructions to them,” the statement added.

BLURB
The Defence University must function within a framework of a University. If higher education instruction is given within the military framework then it is a military academy