• Issues cited include academic staff shortage, failure to recruit qualified personnel, salary, lack of improvements in infrastructure, insufficient research fund allocation

The one-day strike launched by the Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) at all State universities across the country yesterday (30) resulted in lectures and all academic activities at universities being suspended for the day.

The strike had been launched based on several key concerns including the shortage of academic staff due to the brain drain and the failure to recruit qualified personnel, salary-related issues, the lack of improvements in university infrastructure and the insufficient allocation of funds for research.

FUTA members stated that despite holding discussions with Government authorities on multiple occasions, no satisfactory or effective solutions have been provided thus far.

Due to the strike, academic activities at major State universities – including Colombo, Peradeniya, Ruhuna, Rajarata, and Jaffna – were disrupted.

Meanwhile, university academics also staged protests outside university premises yesterday, urging the Government to urgently address their grievances.

Against the backdrop of the strike launched by university lecturers yesterday, FUTA Secretary Charudaththa Illangasinghe warned that the prevailing shortage of lecturers has reached a level where it poses a challenge to continuing university activities. Illangasinghe told a media briefing that over the past year, more than 200 lecturers had left the University of Peradeniya. As for the entire university system, he added, it now has less than 5,000 lecturers, although it should ideally have around 12,000.

“The Government is not taking the education-related decisions that were expected,” he said, adding that despite talks held with the Government over the past year, the necessary measures have not been taken to address several issues, including the shortage of lecturers. He noted that although certain appointments were made from time to time, they were not sufficient to address the shortage. In this context, he stressed, lecturers continue to leave the system, while retaining those who remain has also become a challenge.

According to Illangasinghe, after various deductions including taxes, university lecturers actually receive less than 50% of their salary, which he said has severely discouraged them.