News: universities

Just as government troops prepared this week to celebrate the second anniversary of the decimation of Tamil separatist rebels, thousands of young, new entrants to national universities across Sri Lanka on Monday began entering military camps for a three-week training course that has triggered an intense debate as to whether the country is heading towards a militarized society.

Student unions in Sri Lanka have objected to a scheme under which university entrants must undergo military training.

The university has been the most dependable and organic reservoir of full time political as well as leading carders of the JVP throughout its history since its inception in the late the 1960s. With their youthful idealism, the JVP’s utopia of a ‘socialist state’ can be easily inculcated in their minds until the hard reality of their class character contributes to dissipate their determination and make a return to their normal life. The JVP profits from this short period of young people’s inexperienced and immature political journey and tries to make a political come back on their misery. The universities face an uncertain future for two fundamental reasons today. Firstly, the JVP continues to use the genuine issues within the university system to bolster their flagging political fortunes in the Sinhalese dominated South which has been their historical power base. Secondly it appears that the government has failed to understand or unwilling to acknowledge that there are issues in our universities that need to be resolved.