‘FALL OUT OF THE KDU BILL’

The political storm created by the arrest of teacher trade union activists and political activists on July 8 is still continuing. Demonstrations are being held even after the release of General Secretary of the Ceylon Teachers Union (CTU), Joseph Stalin and the politburo member of the Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) Duminda Nagamuwa on July16 from quarantine centres in Mullaitivu and Pallekelle respectively. 

The facts that they were taken to quarantine centres without them being proved to be infected with coronavirus or being contact persons of COVID-19 patients and their release from quarantine several days short of the mandatory 14-day period without them being subject to PCR tests question the authorities’ motive for their arrest. 
Their release has not solved the issue that created the crisis. The proposed General Sir John Kotelawala National Defence University Bill still remains the bone of contention, apart from the newly boycott of online education by the teachers – an issue that was created by the authorities with forcible quarantining of trade union and political activists. 

General Sir John Kotelawala National Defence University Bill or the KNDU Bill raises two major issues - corporatization and militarization of education - which have far-reaching implications on the higher education and thereby on the future of the country. In fact these two aspects could already be witnessed in the KNDU where it has fee-levying courses for civilian students and it is presently managed mainly by the military. What is going to happen with the proposed Bill is that the current mechanism would be regularized with an Act of Parliament.
In fact free education is not fully in place in Sri Lanka. In almost all schools, funds are raised from the parents for the maintenance of the school such as painting and repairing the buildings. The extra tuition classes have become an indispensable component of school education which is encouraged by the school teachers. Some tuition classes are so popular and in fact result-oriented that hundreds of students attend each of their sessions. The race for popular schools or schools with facilities and the vast disparity between state-owned schools in facilities and resources have paved the way for private schools in the name of international schools many of which do not have qualified teachers or academic environment. 

Then, there is a plethora of fee-levying, degree awarding institutions some of which are state-sponsored. Thousands of students travel to many countries for education and higher education mostly in private institutes, each year. Interestingly, all these are fee-levying educational institutions which have never been protested against by the so-called champions of free-education. Following protests against the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM) in the name of free education, when the students of it were absorbed to the KDU which also levied fees from them and imparted the same courses in 2018, nobody criticized the move.

Despite this contradiction, the expressed concern of the champions of the free-education about the fee-levying education is justifiable since the country boasts about having free-education and more importantly the vast majority of people in the country cannot afford to pay for education. On the other hand, successive governments have failed to have a vision for economic development and a compatible education policy. Hence they failed to allocate sufficient funds for education and expand the facilities in an equitable manner so that free-education could be meaningful. Youth cannot wait until a serious or virtuous government comes to power to get themselves enrolled to State universities. There must be a mechanism to absorb those left out by the state universities – at least those who can afford to pay - each year. It may be unfair by the poor. It may also be called corporatizing of education. Yet, we have only two options under the present circumstances – either to leave out only the poor or leave out both poor and those who can afford to pay. 

However, nobody can contest the second issue raised by the adversaries of the KNDU Bill -militarization.  The Board of Governors of the KNDU under the proposed Bill will be appointed by the Defence Minister and will consist of nine members. This includes the Secretary and Additional Secretary to the Defence Ministry, one nominee each from UGC and Treasury, Chief of Defence Staff, the Commanders of three armed force, and the Vice-Chancellor of the University, also a military officer. And the university will be conducted with a military discipline. This is against the accepted norms of free education. 

Government seems to have accepted or forced to accept this point. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa while addressing the Maha Sangha on July 17 said that the obstacles existed in the University Grants Commission Act will be removed and the Kotelawala Defence University will be brought under its purview. That means the UGC Act must be amended first instead of rushing the KNDU Bill through. 

What is more needed is a higher education policy prepared with the participation of all stakeholders including Ministries of education and higher education, UGC, private sector representatives involved in higher education, school and university teacher trade unions and independent experts in the relevant fields.