The Sri Lankan government has closed 13 of the country’s 15 universities indefinitely, because academics have been on strike for almost two months. The striking academics reject government plans to partially privatise the tertiary education system, which is currently state-funded and free. The Federation of University Teachers Associations (FUTA) is calling on the government to invest 6 per cent of GDP in education, salary increases for university staff and an end to political interference in universities. Sri Lanka’s higher education minister has accused FUTA of trying to bring about regime change by creating a political crisis, but the union rejects this, pointing out the academics belong to a wide range of political parties.
The Sri Lankan government has closed 13 of the country’s 15 universities indefinitely, because academics have been on strike for almost two months. The striking academics reject government plans to partially privatise the tertiary education system, which is currently state-funded and free. The Federation of University Teachers Associations (FUTA) is calling on the government to invest 6 per cent of GDP in education, salary increases for university staff and an end to political interference in universities. Sri Lanka’s higher education minister has accused FUTA of trying to bring about regime change by creating a political crisis, but the union rejects this, pointing out the academics belong to a wide range of political parties.
