Sinhalese VC for Eastern University?

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 December 2010, 20:25 GMT]
A Sinhalese academic is likely to be appointed as the Vice Chancellor of the Eastern University by the Sri Lanka Ministry of Higher Education. The Eastern Provincial Council Chief Minister and several deputy ministers in the eastern province have given consent to the appointment, according to reports emerging from education sources in Batticaloa. Meanwhile, Batticaloa district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian, Mr.C. Yogeswaran, made an appeal in the parliament recently that the steps now being taken by the government to appoint a Sinhalese as VC should be stopped as the Eastern University is located at Vanthaa'rumoolai in the Tamil dominated district.

However, the Higher Education Ministry is reported to have rejected the appeal.

At the same time on requests made by the Deputy Minister for Resettlement, Vinayagamoorthy Muralidharan, Deputy Minister for Women Affairs and Child Welfare, M.L.A.M. Hisbullah, and Provincial Chief Minister, Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, that the administration of the university should be changed, Higher Education Ministry is said to be appointing supporters of Paramilitary groups led by Karuna and Pilliayan to run the university.

Dr. Theivanayagam Thiruchelvam, Balakumar and U.V. Thangarajah are among them and they are expected to return from London to assume duties.