Academics, Professionals And Activists Want KNDU Bill Withdrawn

JUNE 7, 2018

A group of 95 persons, mostly academics but including activists and other professionals, have petitioned for the withdrawal of the General Sir John Kotelawala National Defence University (KNDU) Bill which they claim ‘attempts to expand the existing Kotelawala Defence University in alarming ways”.

Sir John Lionel Kotelawala

The Bill which was gazetted on April 6, 2018, would, they claim, ‘goes well beyond the original objectives of the institution which were to provide training to military personnel in military related disciplines,’ and moreover would allow for operations ‘outside the purview of the Universities Act of 1978 or the University Grants Commission’.

They argue, further, that it would set ‘the dangerous precedent of linking the military to the education of civilians.’

It would provide the Minister of Defence extraordinary powers to intervene on the pretext of “national security” and could potentially use military power to crush any form of dissent on national higher education policy, the petition argues.

Finally, they claim that it is ‘a blatant effort to facilitate the privatization of higher education through the use of the military’ and demand that the government completely withdrawsthe Bill through a gazette notice with immediate effect.

The full text of the petition is given below:

Petition to withdraw the KNDU Bill

The General Sir John Kotelawala National Defence University (KNDU) Bill which was gazetted on 6thApril 2018 attempts to expand the existing Kotelawala Defence University in alarming ways. 

First, this will mean that the KNDU can create new units, link itself with other educational institutions (private, state or foreign), levy fees and award degrees to all sectors of the public, in any academic discipline. This goes well beyond the original objectives of the institution which were to provide training to military personnel in military related disciplines. All of this will be done outside the purview of the Universities Act of 1978 or the University Grants Commission. Instead, these educational activities will be controlled by the Minister of Defence and the Board of Governors composed mostly of military personnel, thereby setting up a dangerous precedent of linking the military to the education of civilians.  

Second, the Bill will enable the Minister of Defence to take “all such steps necessary” to control any situation that is seen to endanger national security or upset the smooth functioning of the University. Since the proposed bill allows for the expansion of the University extending its existing scope excessively in terms of geography as well as structure, it provides the Minister of Defence extraordinary powers to intervene on the pretext of ‘national security’ and could potentially use military power to crush any form of dissent on national higher education policy.  Additionally, the Board of Governors will be compelled to act according to the dictates of the Minister of Defence, usually a portfolio held by the President. 

The contents of the bill are a blatant effort to facilitate the privatization of higher education through the use of the military.  The implications for the quality of higher education and foundations of university education such as academic freedom, autonomy, dissent, freedom of thought and conscience have been completely disregarded in this bill.  Although the bill is presumably being presented as a response to the crisis faced by the medical students enrolled by SAITM, the provisions of the bill go over and beyond that remit in extremely dangerous ways.  

We demand that the government completely withdraw the KNDU Bill through a gazette notice with immediate effect.

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