Eastern University of Sri Lanka
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The Eastern University of Sri Lanka is a university situated in the eastern province of Sri Lanka, Batticaloa. It has a campus in Trincomalee. Now, the university has been granted permission to start the Medical Faculty by the University grants commission.
The idea of having a Tamil University on the lines of Hebrew University of Israel in the Eastern Province was mooted in 1960 by a group of professors who were teaching at the University of Ceylon. The project was started by purchasing land near Nilaveli, Trincomalee and was abandoned later due to lack of funds. The present project was started by K.W. Devanayakam, the Home Minister of the UNP government with the collaboration of Prof FRSCP Kalpage, Minister of Higher Education during 1981. This university is located in a sandy area and it is not very fertile like the non-calcic brown soils found elsewhere in Batticaloa.
Batticaloa in Tamil is called Maddakalappu. 'Madda' or 'madu' means lake and 'kalappu' means 'small salty islets'. Batticaloa lies between the sea and a lagoon and is very porous and has good water table. But during the Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004, the water table was flooded by the swelling sea which came inland for several kilometers. The sea water has increased the salt content of the fresh water table.
Good fresh water supply is essential for continuity of the Batticaloa Campus and this may be obtained from two irrigation tanks located on the western side of Batticaloa, namely Unnichchai and Rugam.
Trincomalee in Tamil is called Thirukonamalai. Thiru means holy; kona means east; and malai means hill. The name simply reflects that it is 'East Hill'. Kona comes from the first century Tamil word kuna. The Sivan Temple Thirukoneswaram on the top of the hill is referred to in the Tamil literature of 6th Century. Nayanmar has visited and made this temple historically famous with his hymns.
As far as the Trincomalee campus is concerned it can be developed further and expanded without much of the difficulty faced by the Batticaloa Campus. Trincomalee is a larger city than Batticaloa as it has the seventh largest harbour in the World.
The Eastern University is situated in an area where relative peace is maintained by the warring parties in the Sri Lankan conflict. The UNP government turned the Vantharumoolai High School into a regional university with a view to make it cater to the needs of the local students. The primary instruction was in Tamil and English.
It has a very highly qualified teaching staff, trained abroad in several western countries. It catered for the farming population of the Eastern Province. Eastern Province is the breadbasket of Sri Lanka, producing a record rice production in the Amparai district and is a model for the rest of Sri Lanka and Asia.
The Eastern University has several faculties namely the Arts Faculty, the Science Faculty, and the Agriculture Faculty.
The main campus is situated in Vantharumoolai (near Chenkalady Town).
The present Civil War in Sri Lanka has affected the growth and development of the university and the funds from the Central Government is very limited and meagre in comparison with other similar universities. Mr. Raveendranath, who was working at University Grants Commission (UGC) where he had submitted his resignation, was on his way to attend a meeting of Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science (SLAAS) at Vidya Mawatta near Bauddhaloka mawatta where he was last seen by his driver at 12:30 a.m.
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[edit] Human Rights Violations
Kidnapping of the Vice Chancellor on 15 th of December 2006: The Vice Chancellor had instructed his driver to come back at 2:00 p.m. when the meeting is over.
The driver contacted the family as he could not get in touch with Mr. Raveendranath, family members have told media.
A complaint was registered at the Police around 9:30 p.m. Friday.
Raveendranath, 55, and father of two girls, was living in Colombo as his resignation was not accepted by the UGC.
Raveendranath began his career in 1978 in Karadiyanarau at the Institute of Agriculture, and he was a founder-member of the EUSL, founded in 1980.
On 30 September, unidentified gunmen, widely believed to be from Karuna group, came in a white van, kidnapped the Dean of Arts faculty at the EUSL, Dr. Bala Sugumar while he was at his Uppodai home in Batticaloa.
The kidnappers had demanded the immediate resignation of the Vice Chancellor of EUSL, Dr. S. Ravindranath, before releasing Bala Sugumar.
A senior lecturer of the Eastern University, Mr. Kumaravel Thambaiah, was shot and killed by the paramilitary group on 24 May 2004.
[edit] Faculty of Agriculture
This was one of the first units started functioning with the inception of the university.
Due to the highly developed Karadiyan Aru Agricultural Unit there were an abundant supply of qualified professionals in the field of agriculture.
Most of them were trained in USA and UK. They were able to run the faculty without any hickups. As such a high quality staff came to work in the faculty and as administrators of the university. Most of them ended as vice-chancellors of the university.
[edit] Faculty of Medicine
The Faculty of Medicine was started recently in 2006.
Dr Kunanandham (FRCS; PhD), a London qualified neurosurgeon was appointed as the first Dean to pioneer the faculty. He became a member of the University Grants Commission. He was a neurosurgeon and he died unexpectedly recently in London when he was with his family.
The faculty is growing rapidly and expected to be taught by foreign trained physicians and surgeons.
The faculty needs a lot of foreign backing and Tamil Diaspora is expected to finance the expansion of the infrastructure. Part of the finance may be collected by admitting foreign students and charging them full fees.
[edit] Political Interference at the University
Bala Sugumar, Dean of the Arts Faculty was recently kidnapped by Karuna Faction demanding the resignation of the Vice Chancellor Dr Ravindranath. Dr Ravindranath born in Jaffna, is a very dedicated scientist of high ethical and moral values. Unfortunately political factions want to create a situation to divide and rule the merged Northeastern Province do not want him there.
Dr Bala Sugumar, was released by the kidnappers in Batticaloa, near his home, after he was held captive for ten days, family sources said.
Unidentified gunmen, widely believed to be from Karuna group, came in a white van, kidnapped him on 30th September, Saturday night, while he was at his Uppodai home in Batticaloa. The kidnappers demanded the immediate resignation of the Vice Chancellor of EUSL, Dr. S. Ravindranath, for his release.
Dr Ravindranath submitted his resignation to the University Grants Commission (UGC) and a new Vice Chancellor will soon be appointed by the President Mahinda Rajapakse. Most probably he will be a native of Batticaloa.
[edit] Scenic Location of Batticaloa Campus
The Batticaloa campus is nearer to several international tourist spots like Pasikudah (near Kalkudah)and Arugam Bay.
[edit] See also
Eastern University massacre - Massacre of refugees at the University in 1990.
