Folding up KNDU Act leave anything worth for Sri Lanka?

The debate that is being hyped and ballooned at present among Colombo “Yahapalana groups” is on “militarisation of higher education” with “Sir John Kotalawela National Defence University” (KNDU) Draft Bill in parliament. While the common allegation is that this Bill aims at “commodifying free education”, the protest gaining momentum now is against “militarisation”. 

It would be worth reading politics entrenched in both the proposed KNDU Bill and in protests against it. For more than three years the Bill was idling with no attention given since it was gazetted by the Yahapalana government on April 11, 2018. It was not “massive protests” but growing conflicts between President Sirisena and PM Wickremesinghe in Yahapalanaya government that left it forgotten.Conspiracies and ugly open conflicts left no space for sensitive Acts like the KNDU Act to be brought to parliament. 

Meanwhile the present KNDU was established in 1981 as Kotalawela Defence Academy (KDA) and allowed conducting degree courses since 1988 under Act No.72 of 1988 continued functioning and expanding without any protest during the past 10 years. In summary the present KDU,

is a military establishment outside the UGC that awards degrees and post-graduate degrees
is a fee levying, degree awarding university since 2012
is affiliated to the Association of Commonwealth Universities
is under the MoD and is managed by a Board of seven dominated by five military personnel
is strictly disciplined as any military organisation would be disciplined

does expand and have in 2012 established a separate post-graduate institute as the “Faculty of Graduate Studies” and a separate campus in Sooriyaweva in 2015 as the “Southern Campus”

There thus is a strong element of militarisation in Sinhala-Buddhist populism of Rajapaksas. The draft KNDU Act, though conceived in Wickramasinghe “liberalism” is the logical path for Rajapaksas to formalise their project begun with the KDU

though totally State owned, the KDU with five other State-owned universities comes under a separate higher education system outside the UGC, far larger than the State sector and dominated by fee levying institutes. The allegation against the proposed KNDU Act as assembling a separate higher education system parallel to the State university system holds no water with five State universities not counting the present KDU, established through different parliamentary Acts. There are also around 20 “degree awarding” State and non-State institutes established and recognised bygovernment. Apart from all that, there are private companies co-ordinating degree courses for foreign private universities. These developments have never been challenged or opposed. 
The most serious of all allegations, that of “militarisation” by Yahapalana campaigners is much flawed. “Militarisation” is about how the defence establishment is brought to intervene and influence State and non-State organisations as decided by government. A quick mention about “militarisation” is the involvement of the military in deciding prevention and control of the COVID-19 pandemic over and above civilian health authorities.
What former PM Ranil Wickremesinghe said on his first day present in parliament on 23 June, 2021 regarding “militarisation” is important in such context. “What has now happened is, military power is used to govern. That cannot be done……Why we blame you is, instead of using the people’s mandate you are going for quasi militarisation. You are handing over powers to military…..” he said and in fact what he said should be discussed at length in academic and professional circles in society. 

Within such socio-political developments, even a UGC with total civil representation would not function in guaranteeing “independence and autonomy” to universities. Militarisation of higher education is about how the civil UGC and university administrations respond to military requests and demands. Two serious issues that spell “militarisation” in universities the present Yahapalana protesters stay ignorant about are (1) removing of Jaffna University VC Prof. Ratnam Vigneswaran in October 2019 and (2) resignation of Senior Lecturer and head of the Jaffna University Law Faculty, Dr.Kumaravadivel Guruparan in July 2020, both due to UGC conceding to military requests.

Prof. Vigneswaran in October 2019 had told that the UGC arbitrarily issued a letter dismissing him. He claimed the UGC has no such right. It has to first serve a charge-sheet and hold an impartial inquiry before deciding on his position as Vice Chancellor. The military, it is said wanted him removed on claims he was lenient towards “students with LTTE links”. But that needs investigations and proof.

In Dr. Guruparan’s issue, only a tiny group of 24 from about 5,500 academics in 17 State universities had guts to condemn the high-handed UGC decision. It showed how maliciously ignorant the Southern academics are about “militarisation” in North and Jaffna university. The statement issued by these 24 academics said, “On August 21, 2019, the military wrote to the UGC questioning the basis on which Dr. Guruparan was permitted to practise law in court. It is evident from this communication that the UGC’s decision to disallow Dr. Guruparan from practising law was instigated by the military. The interference of the military in the affairs of the University of Jaffna has been repeatedly brought to public attention by its students, the academics who teach there and activist groups based in the North.”

They prove“militarisation” of higher education does not require the proposed KNDU Act nor a Governing Council dominated by military personnel. These protest leaders who claim a new militaristic intervention in higher education with the proposed KNDU Act, therefore should first say where they stand on present“militarisation through a civil UGC” in the North and on the present KDU outside the UGC.

All that said, there still remains the question why this Rajapaksa regime wants this proposed KNDU Act in parliament at this time. My reading says, Sinhala-Buddhist politics of Rajapaksas especially after its military victory over the LTTE has been shaped as “patriotic” with a growing trust on military strength in governance. This was evident in how they approached education with a security mindset. “Security guard services” in universities was rented to the State-owned private security agency under the MoD, the “Rakna Arakshaka Lanka Ltd.”This may have, may have I stress, included a “close watch” on student activities and on who the “trouble makers” are. Military training initially designed for “under graduate intakes” was re-shaped due to opposition by both parents and students as “Leadership Training”, yet under military instructors.

Beyond them, the Jayawardene-initiated “Defence Academy” under the MoD was further developed into a university and named KDU in 2007 under Rajapaksas. It was again under the post-war Rajapaksa rule in 2012 the KDU was opened for students outside the defence establishment and the police for a fee and for foreign students subsequently. Under the MoD during the post-war Rajapaksa rule, with heavy patronage for “war heroes” wholly endorsed by then “Yahapalana” politics of the combined Opposition establishing a social mindset for “militarisation” with the “war winning army Commander” as their 2010 Presidential Candidate argued as far superior to the “sarong and banyan” clad civil candidate, expansion of the KDU was a “Rajapaksa project”. 

A post graduate institute begun in 2007 was established separately as the “Faculty of Graduate Studies” in 2012. A corporate plan developed in 2012 led to the opening of the “Southern Campus” complex in Sooriyaweva in 2015. Affiliated to the KDU during the Rajapaksa rule is the Army School of Logistics, Naval and Maritime Academy and the Air force Academy. KDU was made the only university with its own “Teaching Hospital” in Werahera with state of the art facilities, planned by Rajapaksas and executed by the Wickremesinghes.

There thus is a strong element of militarisation in Sinhala-Buddhist populism of Rajapaksas. The draft KNDU Act, though conceived in Wickremesinghe “liberalism” is the logical path for Rajapaksas to formalise their project begun with the KDU.

What these protest leaders should accept is, even if the proposed KNDU Act is folded up, the tragedy in education will not fold up. Withdrawing the KNDU would leave the KDU Act now in force under which all MoD supervised higher education was modernised and expanded.