KDU ගැන නලින්ද ජයතිස්ස
Sir John Kotelawala Defence Academy was established in 1981 by Parliamentary Act No. 68 of 1981. The Academy was granted University status by the Sir John Kotelawala Defence Academy (Amendment) Act No. 27 of 1988. In 2007, it was renamed as General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University.
The original objective of the Academy, as stated in the Act, was to provide training for ‘pre-officer cadets’. Act No. 68 of 1981 states that a five-member Board of Management should be appointed by the President to administer the academy and that a Commandant of the Academy, a senior officer starting from the Army, followed by the Navy and Air Force in rotation will be appointed for a period of three years at a time as the chief executive officer of the academy.
It is clear that the original intent of the Academy was to train cadet officers to serve in the forces. This is not unusual: most countries have specialised institutions for training military officers. However, due to the growing demand for higher education in the country the KDA (subsequently known as KDU) started opening up to non-military (civilian) students as well as establishing study programmes in a range of fields including law, engineering, medicine, management .
KDU will be legally (and not informally as it is currently doing) able to provide higher education in any field of discipline and not be confined to training the Armed Forces. In other words, the KDU will function as any other University, except that it will be subject to the culture and ethics of the military and be governed by the military and unlike other State Universities, be fully fee levying.
The Board of Governors of the KDU will be appointed by the Minister of Defence and will consist of nine members. This includes the Secretary and Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, one nominee each from UGC and Treasury, Chief of Defence Staff, the Commanders of the Army, Navy and Air Force, and the Vice-Chancellor of the University, also a military officer.
This means that at least five of the nine members are from the military. If the Secretary is also from the military (as it is now) only three of the nine Governors will be outside the military. The Board of Governors will have wide ranging powers to determine entry qualifications, the minimum qualification of academic and nonacademic staff, establish quality assurance mechanisms, to decide and establish affiliated institutions to award degrees. It can appoint standing committees for subject disciplines and for determining academic ethical standards. In short, it will have all the powers currently held by the UGC.
Unlike the other State Universities, KDU will be a fee-levying University and will have the powers to recognise and give accreditation to other degree awarding Universities as well. These powers are currently only given to the UGC. The UGC is made up of Commissioners appointed by the Minister for Education, and also has nine members. The current commission is made of six members who have served in senior positions or are serving in senior positions in one of the State Universities.
Of the other three, one is the Secretary to the Commission, the others are a nominee from the Treasury and a lawyer. The UGC has Standing Committees for each discipline made up of the Deans from the relevant faculties. For example, the Standing Committee on Social Sciences is currently chaired by a Member of the Commission who is the former Dean of the Faculty of Arts, University of Colombo. The other Members are Deans of Faculties of Arts and Social Sciences from the State Universities.
Thus, decision making is in the hands of those from the relevant discipline. While there are many problems with how the UGC functions, the structure recognises the importance of discipline expertise and academic values in decision making. In contrast, the KDU Board of Governors has no place for academic expertise.
The Minister of Defence has the authority to instruct the Board of Governors to take all steps against any ‘national security threats’ (undefined) or what the Minister deems as a threat to the ‘smooth’ functioning of the University. It also has the authority to demand any information from an employee or student in the interest of national security and to prohibit any person deemed a threat to national security from entering the University precincts or ‘any part thereof’.
The Act does not allow for the establishment of student unions, a practice in any University in any part of the world.
The proposed KDU Bill offers a privatised, military model of higher education.
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The original objective of the Academy, as stated in the Act, was to provide training for ‘pre-officer cadets’. Act No. 68 of 1981 states that a five-member Board of Management should be appointed by the President to administer the academy and that a Commandant of the Academy, a senior officer starting from the Army, followed by the Navy and Air Force in rotation will be appointed for a period of three years at a time as the chief executive officer of the academy.
It is clear that the original intent of the Academy was to train cadet officers to serve in the forces. This is not unusual: most countries have specialised institutions for training military officers. However, due to the growing demand for higher education in the country the KDA (subsequently known as KDU) started opening up to non-military (civilian) students as well as establishing study programmes in a range of fields including law, engineering, medicine, management .
KDU will be legally (and not informally as it is currently doing) able to provide higher education in any field of discipline and not be confined to training the Armed Forces. In other words, the KDU will function as any other University, except that it will be subject to the culture and ethics of the military and be governed by the military and unlike other State Universities, be fully fee levying.
The Board of Governors of the KDU will be appointed by the Minister of Defence and will consist of nine members. This includes the Secretary and Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, one nominee each from UGC and Treasury, Chief of Defence Staff, the Commanders of the Army, Navy and Air Force, and the Vice-Chancellor of the University, also a military officer.
This means that at least five of the nine members are from the military. If the Secretary is also from the military (as it is now) only three of the nine Governors will be outside the military. The Board of Governors will have wide ranging powers to determine entry qualifications, the minimum qualification of academic and nonacademic staff, establish quality assurance mechanisms, to decide and establish affiliated institutions to award degrees. It can appoint standing committees for subject disciplines and for determining academic ethical standards. In short, it will have all the powers currently held by the UGC.
Unlike the other State Universities, KDU will be a fee-levying University and will have the powers to recognise and give accreditation to other degree awarding Universities as well. These powers are currently only given to the UGC. The UGC is made up of Commissioners appointed by the Minister for Education, and also has nine members. The current commission is made of six members who have served in senior positions or are serving in senior positions in one of the State Universities.
Of the other three, one is the Secretary to the Commission, the others are a nominee from the Treasury and a lawyer. The UGC has Standing Committees for each discipline made up of the Deans from the relevant faculties. For example, the Standing Committee on Social Sciences is currently chaired by a Member of the Commission who is the former Dean of the Faculty of Arts, University of Colombo. The other Members are Deans of Faculties of Arts and Social Sciences from the State Universities.
Thus, decision making is in the hands of those from the relevant discipline. While there are many problems with how the UGC functions, the structure recognises the importance of discipline expertise and academic values in decision making. In contrast, the KDU Board of Governors has no place for academic expertise.
The Minister of Defence has the authority to instruct the Board of Governors to take all steps against any ‘national security threats’ (undefined) or what the Minister deems as a threat to the ‘smooth’ functioning of the University. It also has the authority to demand any information from an employee or student in the interest of national security and to prohibit any person deemed a threat to national security from entering the University precincts or ‘any part thereof’.
The Act does not allow for the establishment of student unions, a practice in any University in any part of the world.
The proposed KDU Bill offers a privatised, military model of higher education.
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23 июля 2021 г. 0:18:48
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