The Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) claimed that the proposed increase of the bond fee which is to be paid by university academics when they travel overseas for studies and research has led many academics to permanently resign from their posts.

Recently, it has been proposed to introduce a procedure under which university dons will have to pay a bond fee when going overseas for studies and research in order to prevent them from remaining in those countries. This proposal was discussed by the members of the Committee on Public Enterprises and the officials of the University Grants Commission (UGC).

Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (31 August), the FUTA Spokesperson, Senior Lecturer Charudaththe Illangasinghe said that the bond fee has been increased against the United States dollar rate and that many university teachers whose scholarships are given by foreign countries cannot afford this fee, since the bond fee for such scholarships is not calculated with the local currency. 

“When someone is given a scholarship by our Government, the bond fee is calculated according to the value of the scholarship and his/her salary. But, if someone is given a scholarship by a foreign country, the bond fee will be calculated with the currency value of that particular country,” he said.

He said that in this context, most of the people who receive foreign scholarships have tended to resign from their positions before going overseas since they need not pay the bond fee then and that this is very common among the newcomers in the university system.

He added that nowadays, university teachers cannot find the two guarantors needed to sign the bond agreement because of many reasons such as the high value of the bond fee and trust-related issues. “Most of the time, the Government collects the bond fee of people who have not returned by using their Employees’ Provident Fund, or otherwise, the two guarantors who had signed the bond agreement have to pay the bond fee on behalf of that person. Therefore now, it is very hard to find guarantors,” he said.

Illangasinghe noted that these conditions have been in the university system for some time, but that it will make the situation worse, if the Government increases the bond fee in this context.

Several attempts made by The Daily Morning to contact the Secretary to the Education Ministry Nihal Ranasinghe and the UGC Chairman Prof. Sampath Amaratunge proved futile.