The Hon. Sujeewa Dissanayake

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, we are debating amendments to the Universities Act, No. 16 of 1978, a vital Bill shaping the future of education—a privilege for us to pass.

¶ 02 We were prepared today to respond to the No-confidence Motion the Opposition had planned against our Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education. Yesterday, an Opposition MP asked, “How can there be a wedding without a bride?” Our Prime Minister has returned from Switzerland—the bride is here—but there is no No-confidence Motion. It seems even 95 per cent of the Opposition do not want it. Do not obstruct us, senior Opposition Members.

¶ 03 The 1978 Act was passed nearly 48 years ago; the world today is vastly different from five decades ago. You recall the UNP government of J.R. Jayewardene came in 1977 with a 5/6 majority and passed laws in an environment where, apart from changing a man into a woman or a woman into a man, they said anything could be done. They kept resignation letters of MPs in pockets and forced votes. Those laws were to meet class interests, but the people’s political consciousness changed, and today we have a people’s government—the National People’s Power—with a more-than-two-thirds mandate and 159 MPs representing the people’s will to make laws that lift up the most vulnerable. We will not abuse that mandate. We will use it in the interest of the rights of our children who have progressed through free education.

¶ 04 Sri Lanka has a rich education tradition, from ancient pirivena-based systems to the modern system shaped by the Portuguese, Dutch, and British for their needs. Our apex institutions today are the universities. The first medical school began around 1870; University College in 1921; the University of Ceylon in 1942; and Sir Ivor Jennings was the first Vice Chancellor.

¶ 05 Under the current structure we see three forces: the academic units, the non-academic staff, and the student community. Today’s amendments concern appointments to senior academic posts—Heads of Departments, Deans, etc. Under the 1978 framework, Vice Chancellors could appoint Deans and Heads within their Faculties. To prevent administration being driven by one person’s will, we are bringing these amendments. This is not only for today; we are making decisions that will hold for the next hundred or two hundred years.

¶ 06 Thank you.