Controversy over Colombo Uni’s new VC: Three council members resign in protest

The University of Colombo (UoC) has been hit by a spate of resignations following the appointment of its new Vice Chancellor ( VC) Senior Professor H.D. Karunaratne.

So far, Prof Thilak Karunaratne, Prof Ajith Gunawardena and Sumith Cumaranatunga have resigned as Members of the UoC Council in protest. More are expected to leave over the next few days, official sources said.

The new VC appointment has been opposed on the claim that it is politically-motivated and violates protocol and selection procedure. The prescribed marking scheme for the VC position sends applications through two rounds of evaluations. One is by a group appointed by the University Grants Commission ( UGC) and the other is the UoC Council, which is the final arbiter.

The Council is made up of the VC, the Dean, the Rector, and two Members of the Senate (the highest academic body) and a large number of appointed Members who are usually well- placed professionals and are expected to exercise independent scrutiny of the university’s governance structure.

During the evaluation period, the VC had recused herself and an interim chair took her place. All the council proceedings were overseen by a UGC-nominated retired VC.

In a statement to the Sunday Times, the Council said its members awarded points in conformation with "well- established processes contained in written guidelines" issued by the UGC. After several hours of exhaustive appraisals, the Council gave incumbent VC Senior Professor Dr Chandrika Wijeyaratne 89.6 marks. Prof Karunaratne earned 66 marks and Dr Prathiba Mahanamahewa got 64 marks.

However, Prof Karunaratne was made VC over her because of his relationship with Viyathmaga, Prof Wijeyaratne claimed. The Council had held the opinion that, apart from scoring the highest marks for a presentation she gave on future plans for UoC, she had steered the university well through the pandemic, she said.

"I have a reputation for not giving in to everything they demand," she told the Sunday Times. The UoC was State- funded and therefore answerable to the public.

During her tenure, she resisted pressure to grant fraudulent degrees to many politically- connected persons. She also opposed moves by the Urban Development Authority ( UDA) to take over a girls' hostel near Gangaramaya until an alternative was found. "I stood firm and negotiated for decent accommodation,” she said.

For the first time ever, the new VC’s selection was announced three months before her term’s end, Prof Wijeyaratne said. But for one other politically- appointed VC in 2014, every other Vice Chancellor had been an UoC alum.

"They wanted to destabilise the end of my term by displaying that I wouldn't be in authority for much longer, but I continued with no mishaps," she said. “As more people resign, more political pawns will replace them and this will severely affect the quality of one of the most prestigious educational institutes of the country.”

Prof Karunaratne assumed duties on April 12 amidst criticism from professional organisations such as the Bar Association of Sri Lanka. UGC officials did not respond to requests for a comment.

However, the new VC denied any affiliation with Viyathmaga. “I went there for a guest lecture once and nothing else,” he told the Sunday Times. As a Senior Professor, he is invited to many such events but that did not make him a part of those organisations.

He also said he had all the credentials required to be the VC, having occupied all required positions of authority within the university up to the level of Acting VC during his 31-year career at UoC. He was previously the Dean of the Faculty of Management and Finance there. He was Head of Department for three years, Dean of the Faculty for three years as well as Director for two year.

"These accusations of political affiliations are baseless," he reiterated. If anything, the previous VC had stronger political affiliations, he claimed, as she had invited six Ministers-- including the then Minister Namal Rajapaksa--to UoC events over a span of five months, something that isn’t usually done within a university.

Prof Karunaratne also disagreed with the marks he had scored, insisting that the Council had used biased margins.