Boycotting lectures unfair: Prof. Samaranayake

Students continue their boycott of lectures when the GMOA and the Universities Vice Chancellors had shown some agreement with the Government’s solution to the SAITM issue was unfair, former UGC Chairman Prof. Gamini Samaranayake said.

“As much as free education should be protected, educational freedom should also be safeguarded, while students boycotting lectures should realise that this would shorten their professional life,” he said.

Prof. Samaranayake said that medical students had already frittered away the expenditure to keep the Peradeniya University open for a day.

Although Rs. 200,000 was set apart to keep the medical faculty open for a day, Rs. 1.6 million was needed to keep eight medical faculties open for a day.

“The Government would lose over Rs. 40 million if students were to boycott lectures for a month. The students who continue to boycott lectures, should realise this fact. They should realise that the continuous boycotting would draw their lives backwards by several years,” he said.

Prof. Samaranayake said the most powerful party to the anti-SAITM struggle had agreed with the government’s solution. But secondary parties to the issue are still continuing with the strike.