Social Affairs. Vol.1 No.7, 10-15, Fall 2017

Social Affairs: A Journal for the Social Sciences ISSN 2478-107X (online) www.socialaffairsjournal.com

RECOLLECTIONS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF

Compiled by Shanti Nandana Wijesinghe** Department of Sociology, ,

Hasini Lecamwasam Depatment of Political Science, Central European University, Hungary

ABSTRACT These recollections have been drawn from adaptations of two types of material: 1) Speeches delivered at the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of the University of Peradeniya held at the University of Peradeniya on January 10, 2017 and 2) Interviews conducted with key personalities of the university. The main objective of this compilation is to throw into relief from multiple perspectives the growth, progress, as well as setbacks experienced by the university during its 75 years of existence as an academic entity. In addition, it seeks to map their respective visions for the university at the juncture of its centenary celebration. The experiences and memories of academic and administrative staff of the university have been revisited in this exercise.

Keywords: , University of Peradeniya, , Research

CHANCELLOR PROF. P.W. EPASINGHE: several name changes. A number of Faculties located in were partially or fully 1942 was the year when the University of shifted to Peradeniya as intended in the long Ceylon, the first University, was established term plans of University Education in the then in Colombo in the premises of College House. Ceylon. Those parts of such Faculties which The master plan of the University envisaged were not shifted continued to be in Colombo that all activities of the University will be and progressed with development to become shifted to Hantana in Peradeniya, the present the in 1978. premises of the University of Peradeniya after

* Based on speeches delivered at the Diamond ** Corresponding author e-mail: Jubilee celebrations of the University of Peradeniya [email protected] held at the University of Peradeniya on January 10, ©2017 Social Affairs Journal. This work is 2017 and interviews conducted with key personalities licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution- of the university. NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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The major move took place in 1952 when the University of Colombo to University of the staff and students of the Faculties of Arts Ceylon. and Oriental Studies together with the Main Historical Background of the University Library and the University Administration were of Ceylon and the Contribution of Sir Ivor transferred to Peradeniya. The completion of Jennings this major move on 6 October 1952 marked the formal establishment of the University of Sir Ivor Jennings was appointed by His Ceylon, Peradeniya. Excellency the General of Sri Lanka. His administration can be traced along two This important event of the university becoming phases; in Colombo from 1952-1955, and in fully operative at Peradeniya was celebrated Peradeniya thereafter. He took great interest in subdued tone by the Vice- in establishing the Peradeniya campus and planting a tree opposite the entrance to the subsequently making it the Headquarters of Lodge, because the government was keen to the University of Ceylon. postpone the ceremonial opening arranged for 1952, owing to the death of King George One of the first functions of Jennings as the VI, until Queen Elizabeth II could participate Vice Chancellor of the University of Ceylon in the opening ceremony in 1954. was to establish five new faculties which were not included in the University College of 1922. The postponed opening ceremony was held They were the faculties of Oriental Studies, on 20th April 1954 with the participation of Arts, Law, Science, and Medicine. Faculties Queen Elizabeth II. The Duke of Edinburgh of Engineering and Science came much later. while declaring open the university said “You Long before we came in 1952, he also got final have remarked Mr. Chancellor, that it is not year students of the Farm School to form the easy to open a university, because once core of the emerging Faculty of Agriculture. established it is always open. However, like the shopkeepers of London during the bombing, I Matriculation of Students can declare this place to be “more open than Initially there were no admission exams. usual”... It is evident that the university moved London matriculation was the qualifying to Peradeniya on 6th October 1952, nearly exam to enter the university. Students were one and a half years before the ceremonial typically from the middle class produced by opening, due to the initiative of Dr. Ivor urban schools, there was almost no one from Jennings, the Vice-Chancellor. The University central schools. From 1942 to 1946 or so till of Ceylon continued to function as University was introduced, education of Ceylon, Peradeniya, while those sections of came with a heavy price tag. It meant that the university operating in Colombo continued unless one received a scholarship or bursary, as the Colombo campus of the university until or one came from the affluent middle class, 1967, when they were split into two separate the university was barred to them. Thus the and independent universities. university was confined to the five faculties Thereafter, University in Peradeniya continued mentioned above, accommodating about to function as the University of Ceylon. thousand students.

PROF. B.L. PANDITHARATHNE: In terms of making residential arrangements, one witnesses the introduction of the following The University of Ceylon was established by residence halls: Arunachalam, Jayathilake, ordinance no. 20 of 1942 with sir Ivor Jennings Broody, Broody for Christians, Aquinas for as the first Vice Chancellor. The Peradeniya Catholics, Vithiyagara for Medical students, University is legally the successor along with

-11- Social Affairs. Vol.1 No.7, 10-15, Fall 2017 and Queens Hall – the only one for the a march along the -Peradeniya road, ladies, who were very few in numbers during and promptly the police set about trying to the 1942-1952 period. The affluent among stem the show of protest. them chose to attend lectures from locations The students withdrew to Jayathilake Hall, outside of the university. Some came from removed a concrete slab and attacked the home. police, which injured Sargent Morly Banly. Selection of a Place and Construction of Jennings did not interfere with the law. The the Second Branch of the University leader of the student group along with a few other students were prosecuted but the As As an extension of the University of magistrate pardoned the protestors. Jennings Ceylon, a second campus was proposed to left in 1955. be built away from Colombo. From between the two locations under consideration for this PROF. SHANTHA K. HENNAYAKE: venture, Dumbara and Peradeniya, the latter I was in the first batch of students to enter was chosen as the site of the new campus. the Dumbara Campus of the Peradeniya Jennings personally supervised the Campus, University of Ceylon in 1978. It was University plan and construction of the a turbulent time at the campus as none of University along with architect Sherly de the students were happy with the set up at Alwis. The administration building which the new campus. I represented the English stands on granite pillars was designed to medium students at the discussions with the echo the glory of Anuradhapura. The Arts administrators in trying to find a solution. This Faculty with the theater, The Lodge (the Vice was my first involvement in student politics Chancellor’s residence), halls of residence and advocacy. including Jayathilake Hall along the Contributions to University Administration road, Arunachalam and Halls along the incline of the hill, and Hilda In 2010 I became the Head of the Department Obeysekara Hall for the ladies. of Geography, Faculty of Arts. Later, in 2012 I was appointed as the Deputy Vice Chancellor I am proud to say I was the one of the first of the University of Peradeniya. Attending students from Colombo to attend Peradeniya. to the student affairs is one of the key I was in my third year in Colombo, in obligations of the Vice Chancellor. Deputy September of 1952, when I chose to continue Vice Chancellor also becomes the Acting my degree in Peradeniya. A special train Vice Chancellor when the latter was away. was started and at every major station like Polgahawela and Kadugannawa, students I played a main role in initiating the semester used to jump to the platform and sing and system in the Faculty of Arts, University of dance. The respective station masters were Peradeniya. very indulgent and amused. The students that In the years 2011-2012 I was responsible came here were dedicated to build the new for the formation of the Planning and campus both socially and educationally. Development Committee of the Governing Sir Jennings was not known for having Council of the University of Peradeniya. The problems with students or authorities. But Committee was responsible for advising the in 1953, amidst the rice ration and the Council on future planning for the intellectual consequent unrest, an island-wide strike was and physical development of the University. called, and university students took to the streets. Peradeniya undergraduates went on of Freshers in the University of

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Peradeniya (from 1979) but later they admitted to their fault. Another incident was that the Vice Chancellor had Even though ragging was there even during my attempted to prevent an incident of ragging. time as an undergraduate, it was not politically He had been informed that ragging is taking motivated like now. Since student politics is place in the Akbar Hall where a large group at present connected with radical left-wing of first year students were being physically political parties, ragging today reflects these harassed and were feed rice and curry with shifts as well. In the past, there were different sand. . When he had gone to the hostel political associations among the students canteen to speak to the students, the students and student elections were held regularly– had started to protest violently. student politics was much more democratic then. That type of democratic student politics I think legal punishments are only a temporary is no longer found today. Ragging today is solution for ragging because it stems from purely an exercise of violence, unlike in the much deeper socio-psychological issues. We past when it was rather playful mischief. Even need an effective approach to handle this though students who engaged in ragging issue that takes into account these deeper activities were usually suspended for some dimensions as well. time, they did graduate after they successfully Interventions to Effect Changes in the completed their studies. University Ragging has now become a national menace. II observed that the University of Peradeniya Student associations are controlled by did not have an official anthem. However, the inter-university student federation and then I discovered during my tenure as the student unions are merely an extension of DVC that an unofficial version was available. the inter-university student federation which It was written and music was composed by is unofficially linked to the radical left political two of our own students. Then I obtained the parties. Students are pawns of it; this was not official approval of the Governing Council for there in the past. this song as the official University Anthem. Measures that were taken to prevent ragging The Ceylon University Press which was were not effective. Attempts were made to once housed in the University of Ceylon allow parents to remain in the university unfortunately went into decline in the late 1960s. premises during the first couple of months I was responsible for the reestablishment of the academic year when ragging takes of the University Press in 2014. One of the place but it did not materialize. Leaflets prominent works published by the University were distributed among students and parents Press was Peradeniya: The Founding of a to create awareness about the harmful University, a five volume compilation by then consequences of ragging but they too failed Senior Assistant Librarian, A.T. Alwis. to achieve the desired objective. I also took measures to ban the use of I recall an incident in this regard. One day Polythene within the university premises.. the Arts Faculty Students’ Union violently This went hand in hand with the initiative to protested against holding classes, despite the dispose solid waste to Gohagoda, the official fact that lectures were scheduled for that day. dump of the Earlier The incident went to the extent that a lecturer garbage was dumped on the side of the road was assaulted. The students’ union leaders that leads to upper Hanthana. who were directly involved in assaulting the lecturer were suspended for three years, I was also instrumental in establishing a

-13- Social Affairs. Vol.1 No.7, 10-15, Fall 2017 committee called the University supplies University Grants Commission, policy Committee. This committee is responsible for makers, and the government. Every party has carefully analyzing past purchases (stationery, a responsibility. chemical substances, furniture, etc.) made We must also reconsider the notion that there by the university before approving requests should only be state universities. For healthy for new purchases. Additionally, I took the competition among university students, there initiative in establishing a shuttle service that needs to be private universities. The university took students from the halls to their respective needs to have a great deal of independence faculties free of charge. With the help of the with regard to its education and research in Land Committee, I also initiated measures to this regard, to have competitive advantage. regain university lands that were encroached For instance, it should be allowed to directly by outsiders. establish faculties, departments, and Comments on the Desired Future research centres and also to attract students Trajectory of the University of Peradeniya directly. The University Grants Commission can decide on the minimum standards for The The University of Ceylon started in 1942 enrolment . was brought to Peradeniya in 1952. At the time this university was established, most colonies In terms of internal changes, the academic were not independent . There were only a few staff and the university administration need universities for the whole of Asia and Africa. to be depoliticized in general and de party- At that time, the University of Ceylon was politicized in particular. Politicization has gone among the top 100 universities in the world. to the extent that even top level administrative However, during Prof. Attygala’s tenure as and academic positions are not made any Vice Chancellor (1955-1965), the introduction longer without political interference. Even of Swabhasha as the medium of instruction in those who are appointed without such the University rather too hastily resulted in the interference ultimately have to bend down to decline of quality and standards especially it due to pressure. in the Arts and Social Science faculties. All The academic staff must be highly qualified. governments from 1948 should be primarily In the past, only the best were taken in to responsible for this downtrend. assume these positions. But since of late, The situation is the other way around in the best do not always get into the academic countries like and . Their staff owing to changing social, economic, and universities have developed and improved political conditions in the country at large. with time. But in Sri Lanka, even though Some of the best brains migrate to other school education and thus attaining simple countries. Joining university academic staff is given much attention and priority, has become a second choice for many of university education and thus developing them today. There is a remarkable decline of effective literacy is not given priority. the knowledge output to society by university academics. . For example, in the Faculty If the country needs a change in future, of Arts, knowledge is mainly book-based, university education needs to be given much and hardly ever ventures beyond . Greater more attention and priority at the national level commitment to intellectualism is essential, than it is given now. There are many changes and this should be prioritized over everything that are easily possible within the universities else within the University system. in relation to their general situation. Certain other changes need to come from the To this end, the recruitment process should

-14- Recollections of the University of Peradeniya be well-organized, and post-recruitment a lecturer, she stayed at Lady Hill quarters. follow-ups should be systematized as well. I recall my days in Peradeniya with great Getting paid without work is not freedom. happiness as it was the most beautiful period The university should be brought to a level of my life. where those who do not work are penalized In 1991, I enrolled at the Department of and terminated from service. The 8 hour Philosophy as an undergraduate student. For work schedule is an administrative and legal my graduate studiesalso I continued on in the feature. It does not characterize the academia. same department. My post-graduate research Most importantly, the library should be open was on Thagore’s Philosophy. I never thought till night for students to access and students’ I would get the chance to be the Head of the academic culture should revolve around the Department of Philosophy because I am from library and laboratories. an ethnic minority, but it was not a problem. The national harm caused by the university as I love this university very much, and I work hard exemplified by student protests, baton attacks to bring it among the world’s top universities. on students, and academic staff going on I think the administration of the University of strikes are all indicative of a general decline Peradeniya is highly appreciable. It is reflected in the standards and intellectual commitment in the fact that students from other universities of the university system in general. These are come to do their postgraduate studies at the not signs of progress. The university needs University of Peradeniya. I have served here to be committed to intellectual development. for 27 years now. My students now serve in If the current state does not change, the leading in positions in the country. university system will decline even more. Future of Peradeniya There are serious disparities among universities as well. Despite its prestigious Undergraduate and graduate training past record and lush landscape, the University should take a more practical approach. The of Peradeniya is located in the national existing system does not allow students to periphery. Several universities are located think critically. This needs to be changed in the Colombo Metropolis. The intellectual by introducing a practical component to reality is that the University of Peradeniya is education that would encourage students to not 100 km away from the urban centre; in apply their knowledge to real world situations substantive terms it is 1000 km away. The and question/ revise it as necessary. periphery does not get the benefits, links, More importantly, libraries should not be closed interactions and the attention that the centre under the excuse that students do not come. gets. The University of Peradeniya suffers The libraries should be open for the ones who from all these negative factors. These issues wish to study. We need to shift away from a should first be addressed if we are to hope for purely logistical approach to these things, and a national reinvigoration of the University of broaden our operations to accommodate and Peradeniya. encourage even the minority that is interested MS. MALLIKA RAJARATNAM in academic endeavours. I received my first degree from the University of Peradeniya. I chose this university since my friends were here and also my husband is from Kandy. I arrived in June, 1991, and never stayed in the hostel. After becoming

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