University of Jaffna - Education for Life |
Gajalakshmi Paramasivam
28 January 2018
Higher
Education for Life or Living?
Even
as I learnt about Standard Deviation from my husband Param of Jaffna College,
Vaddukoddai, for the purposes of
understanding the needs of a student whose welfare is part of my
wellbeing, my mind went to the commonness I could identify with in the two
subject matters – Mathematical structuring of variances and Governance structuring of the University of Jaffna which structure is
common by law to all Universities of Sri Lanka.
In Standard Deviation, the difference between
the average (mean) and the value of data
at a certain point is squared; the total of such squared values is then averaged (by dividing by the
number of times the primary values were so squared less one) and then the square
root of that is worked out as the Standard
Deviation.
The
parallel of that in the University governance structure as understood by me was explained as
follows in my contribution to defending an Academic against whom the Vice Chancellor
of the University of Jaffna instituted Disciplinary Action:
a. Section
45 of the Universities Act prohibits
the Vice Chancellor from taking Disciplinary Action against Academics
b.
Section
44 (1) of the Universities Act provides as follows:
[The Council of a University (hereinafter referred to as “the Council”),
shall be the executive body and governing authority of the University
and shall consist of the following persons:-
(i)
The Vice-Chancellor
(ii)
Deputy Vice-Chancellor if any
(iii)
Rector, if any
(iv)
The Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies, if
any
(v)
The Dean of each Faculty
(vi)
Two members elected by the Senate from amongst
its members; and
(vii)
Such number of members as is total to the
number of members in paragraphs (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v) & (vi)
above increased by one. All such members
shall be appointed by the Commission from among persons who have rendered
distinguished service in educational, professional, commercial, industrial,
scientific or administrative spheres.]
My contribution
included the following:
c.
It is submitted that in terms of
approving Administrative Decisions,
a simple majority would be sufficient. This is due to the limits of
Administrative authority stopping with the CEO –the Vice Chancellor.
d.
But where a Governing Decision is required to be delivered, the approval by vote of those
in group 44 (1) (vii) – which is the Governing Authority, needs to be greater
than the vote by the other group
identified by Section 44 (1) (i)-(vi)
which is the Executive body – as
indicated by the essential
qualification ‘total to the number of
members in paragraphs (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v) & (vi) above increased
by one’
I
believe that I identified quickly with the value of the above, due to me being a self-governing person
through Experience. Experience leads to ownership. Whoever / whichever group - that developed the above structure - is to my
mind, self-governing. Hence as we say through Hindu epic about the Divine Love
of Rama & Seetha – At their first meeting - He identified
and She also identified. The Tamil word used to present this experience of ‘sighting’ is Nohkhinaan
for Rama and Nohkhinaal for Seetha. Nohkham in Tamil means purpose.
In
Governance we identify through our votes on behalf of those whom we represent. In
Administration, we relate through the consolidated value of the standards of
those who developed the laws and principles – on the basis of which we measure
rights and wrongs. Such developers may never
have been our direct leaders. Hence the interpretation would vary as per our ‘belief’
in the person/developer or the value itself.
A
person in rural Sri Lanka – for example may never have had a Westerner close
enough to believe in. But through Christianity the leader from the West and the
rural citizen of Sri Lanka who practiced Christianity, may have developed
common faith.
The
Sunday Observer editorial under the heading ‘Northern Economic Re-Awakening’ ,
brings us the following picture of current affairs:
[As Northern business people and local citizens visit the Jaffna International
Trade Fair (JITF 2018) venue in Jaffna, youth and students flock to the nearby
‘Higher Education and Career Exhibition’ being held simultaneously with the
trade fair. The JITF 2018 and the education fair, both end today and, are
symbols of the speedy re-awakening of the Northern Province after decades of
war.]
Education
for a living has long been an export commodity in Jaffna. It came also at the
cost of ‘Education for life’. Education
for life develops higher common thinking. It prevents emotional reactions with
or without faith. Emotional expressions without faith lead to violation of
rights of those who raise their thoughts to the higher level by keeping the
other side in their mind. Emotional expressions without faith lead to violation of right-to-express by those whose emotions are within the limits of
their faith. The former – i.e. emotions lacking in faith are superstitions and
the latter lead to manifestations of what we refer to as miracles. Both are of absolute value and are outside our
controls. Like the gods the latter
manifest outcomes at a higher plane while the former like Asuras /
demons manifest at the lower plane.
The
simple example that comes to mind is the spilling of the red holy powder –
Kungkumum, on the floor. Kungkumum denotes love and is worn on the forehead by
all when it is claimed to be sacred and
by married women to denote they are married. When we use kungkumum merely as a
ritual – the spilling is taken as superstitious – a bad omen especially in the
case of a married woman. But when we use Kungkumum with faith – especially as
part of sacred ceremonies or at a place of deep praying by oneself – such spilling
is taken as a Blessing from Above. The latter is like the ‘plate and glass
smashing’ at Greek weddings.
The
more Jaffna Tamils studied for a living, the greater the risk of leaving Jaffna
for good when they were economically ‘free’. Without ongoing faith based
connection through the umbilical cord, such emigrants tend to not return. This
often breeds militancy due to the gap between the official laws of
Administration and the knowledge levels of rural folks driven strongly by their
respective cultural faiths.
The
University of Jaffna is such an institution where students from rural areas are
in the majority. As per my observation through life in current Northern
Province, students from rural areas in
Northern Sri Lanka, – (especially from
communities that have isolated themselves on caste and/or militancy bases) – tend
to learn Tamil and/or Hindu culture related subjects than
science subjects that are directly of global value. When they become more
active than the science students and/or those who learn subjects like English –
that are of common interests, majority
power tends to lead to militancy due to superstitious value of ‘Nationalism’ –
Tamil Nationalism in this instance.
This
was demonstrated through the matter in which I was/am advisor to the Defendant’s
side. The complaints came from Arts faculty students and according to the
information made public – there were hundreds of alleged complainants to
suspend the Academic. That was use of majority rule. But when it came to
inquiry – to initiate which the Defendant had to start a Fundamental Rights
case in the Supreme Court – only three witnesses came forward and two of them
as per my assessment were not genuine. The third one revealed at her level of
knowledge that she lacked self-esteem due to inability to cope with the current
requirements. No objectively measurable
evidence was produced. At the level of ‘subjects’ those who provided evidence
demonstrated serious weaknesses in relating to fulfilling their position
responsibilities. Using the yardstick of ‘Beyond Reasonable Doubt’ method, I
dismissed mentally, all complainants who through the function of giving
evidence demonstrated serious weakness in ownership through their official
positions in the University’s prestigious structure.
The
weak student who claimed sexual harassment
through phone, but without her complaining to the authorities by herself – was neutralised
by another student who categorically stated that she did not feel sexually
harassed but was stressed due to getting zero marks in a small part of the
exam. That ‘gap’ between acceptable, reliable/ reasonable evidence and the number of statements received as
complaints confirmed a large deviation from the accepted levels of reasonable
errors. This to my mind, established
that the complaints were frivolous and vexatious, due to lack of ownership
through core values of a University. One who confirms ownership could never be
dismissed as frivolous and/or vexatious.
The
ownership miracle that happened was the arrival of Professor Velupillai
Tharmaratnam, who
is a University Council member and who specializes in Maths and whose name I
cited in another matter when I prepared the papers to obtain leave to Appeal in a Testamentary
matter – using Thesawalamai Law – particular to that part of Sri Lanka. Professor Velupillai Tharmaratnam arrived on the day of the submission in relation to the internal
inquiry of the University matter – but after we made moves to list the
individual Council members as respondents in the Fundamental Rights case in
Colombo. Professor Velupillai Tharmaratnam may not have heard about the changes to amend
the Petition in the Supreme Court. But that is the way of Absolute value which stands on its own merits and does not
need endorsement or proof from others. True owners merely identify with each
other when their minds are still. To my mind, it was Maths that arrived through
Professor Velupillai Tharmaratnam to endorse our submission on the basis of
Governance values which are absolute values.
The Maths and Science parts of the University
and indeed Sri Lankan Population that has invested in Maths and Science, need
to use Standard Deviation and know who is further away from the acceptable
level of conduct in Jaffna and to what degree ? The answer would surprise
someone who used the flat method of majority rule in haste which led to the ethnic war and arrived at a
negative answer about this academic of the University of Jaffna from the point of
view of the Vice Chancellor who used simple majority instead of Standard Deviation method.
Majority vote at primary level is the flat
level using physical power. When minorities
have easy access to external physical powers – such as Indians in the case of
Sri Lankan Tamils and the power of weapons in general – this physical power
could be overridden. Taken at the exponential level – the outcomes show
positive value of Tamils who seek to be more Regional and Global. If Resident
Tamils fail to value this – but keep claiming ‘genocide’ they get disconnected
with Jaffna’s deeper investment in Higher Education for Life.
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