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University teachers to stage protest opposite UGC today
University teachers are scheduled to stage a protest opposite the University Grants Commission at Ward Place, Colombo, today (25) against what the Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) calls the government’s irrational policy on education and unfair taxation.
FUTA General Secretary Dr. Athulasiri Samarakoon said that the university teachers also opposed the government’s inability to resolve the current crisis in the country’s education sector. A Joint alliance between academic and non-academic university communities to strengthen the fight against the threats on the state university system had been formed and that would further strengthen their struggle, Dr. Samarakoon said.
The alliance is in the process of considering joint-union actions to safeguard universities.
“The neglect of the university system will have dire consequences for the ordinary citizens of this country and our joint effort will be particularly to protect the right to higher education of the ordinary people of this country. We as FUTA are determined to fight the unjust education policy of the government,” Dr Samarakoon said.
Dr Samarakoon has said in a media statement: “This protest will be attended by academics from 17 universities and around 46 trade unions of academics. In addition, the leaders of around 26 non-academic and executive unions of the universities will attend to declare their support for this protest. The objectives of the protest are to (a) express the deep and growing displeasure among the academics and university community of the negligence of the state universities by the government, and its covert operation to make them self-financing institutions depriving poor students the opportunity of obtaining free education, (b) to demand that government must reverse its unfair taxation and introduce a tax fair system to catch those tax evaders, and to force the government to withdraw its proposal to cut superannuation funds and impose a heavy interest on it, which will, by and large, deprive workers much of their retirement funds.
“FUTA has shown very clearly that, today, the universities have to operate amidst a severe crisis of funding and human resources. On the one hand, there is a huge brain drain and, on the other, the government policy does not allow for recruiting permanent staff. Since 2017 the government has not provided academic cadres for the universities and despite the increase in student intake from 30,000 to 45,000 the number of academic staff has remained the same and has kept dwindling fast due to retirements and brain drain. Today, the academic staff requirement for all seven universities remains more than 15000, but the existing number is less than 6500. The academics who are in the system are overburdened and the students have to face the injustice very often due to the huge gap in the student-teacher ratio.
“At the same time, the government policy of restructuring universities has threatened the existence of a free education system. It is understandable that the government is going to introduce a self-financing system and will wash its hands of the responsibility of providing free higher education in the near future. We as FUTA and the joint front of non-academic unions are determined to fight for the protection of state universities and invite the public to join the struggle as the government has no mercy on poor people, and, if we do not increase the intensity of the struggle, it will easily deprive the country of its free higher education system very soon.”
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Advisory for severe lightning issued for Sabaragamuwa, Central and Uva provinces and in Hambanthota district
The Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre has issued an Advisory for Severe Lightning for the Sabaragamuwa, Central and Uva provinces and in Hambanthota district.
The advisory issued at 02.00 p.m. today [07 April 2025] is valid for the period until 11.00 p.m. 07 April 2025
The public are warned that thundershowers accompanied by severe lightning are likely to occur at several places in for Sabaragamuwa, Central and Uva provinces and in Hambantota district. There may be temporary localized strong winds during thundershowers. General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by lightning activity.
ACTION REQUIRED:
The Department of Meteorology advises that people should:
Seek shelter, preferably indoors and never under trees.
• Avoid open areas such as paddy fields, tea plantations and open water bodies during thunderstorms.
• Avoid using wired telephones and connected electric appliances during thunderstorms.
• Avoid using open vehicles, such as bicycles, tractors and boats etc.
• Beware of fallen trees and power lines.
• For emergency assistance contact the local disaster management authorities.
The report of the “Census of Population and Housing 2024,” conducted by the Department of Census and Statistics, was officially handed over to President Anura Kumara Disanayake this morning (07) at the Presidential Secretariat.
This preliminary report has been prepared based on island wide data collected between October and December 2024.
The report provides details on Sri Lanka’s population, its growth and the distribution of the population across districts.
The information gathered through the census is vital not only for the government but also for other institutions in formulating policies and development plans essential for the country’s progress. Significantly, for the first time in the history of census-collecting in Sri Lanka, data collection was carried out using tablet computers and user-friendly mobile devices.
The event was attended by Deputy Minister of Finance & Planning, Harshana Suriyapperuma, Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Secretary to the Ministry of Finance Mahinda Siriwardana, Director General of the Department of Census and Statistics D.D.G.A. Senevirathne and several other officials.
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka today (07) presented its flagship publication, the Annual Economic Review for 2024 (AER 2024), to President and Minister of Finance, Anura Kumara Disanayake, highlighting the steady progress of Sri Lanka’s economic recovery following the country’s most severe downturn in recent history.
The report was officially handed over by Dr. P. Nandalal Weerasinghe, Governor of the Central Bank, during a special ceremony held at the Presidential Secretariat.
AER 2024 comprises four main chapters: Macroeconomic Developments, Conditions of the Financial System, Review of Central Bank’s Policies and Macroeconomic Outlook.
According to the Review, the Sri Lankan economy showed significant signs of recovery in 2024, following the deep economic crisis experienced two years ago. The recovery trajectory, though challenging, has been notably faster than that of many other debt-distressed countries.
Improvements in economic activity, a partial resurgence in purchasing power and reduced uncertainty are among the key positive indicators noted in the report.
The event was attended by Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Secretary to the President, K. M. Mahinda Siriwardena, Secretary to the Treasury, Mrs. K. M. A. N. Daulagala, Senior Deputy Governor, Dr. C. Amarasekara, Assistant Governor, Dr. (Mrs.) S. Jegajeevan, Director of Economic Research and Dr. L. R. C. Pathberiya and Additional Director of Economic Research at the Central Bank Dr. V. D. Wickramarachchi.
[PMD]
Advisory for severe lightning issued for Sabaragamuwa, Central and Uva provinces and in Hambanthota district
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