Recent Growth of the University of Jaffna

An Interview with former Vice Chancellor P. Balasuntharampillai

By Charles Devasahayam, M. A.

When I visited the University of Jaffna for the first time in the spring of 2003, I was keen to learn about as to how this great institution was able to survive, function and grow in an environment marked by destruction of infrastructure and property, and displacement of people. I was lucky to have had the pleasure of meeting and talking to Professor P. Balasuntharampillai, who was the two terms Vice Chancellor of the University during the period 1997 to 2003. Following is a summary, in his own words, of what I learnt from him.

I assumed duties as Vice Chancellor of the University of Jaffna in 1997, when buildings and facilities were severely damaged and in a depleted condition, with empty towns and villages due to large-scale migration and displacement of people fleeing war atrocities. I served two terms till 2003.

I feel happy that we were able to plan and implement various development projects during this critical period, focusing on repairs and renovation, and development. We had to rehabilitate damaged buildings, broken walls, roofs and doors, and construct new buildings to add new floor area. Even the construction works on the library building, which had its foundation constructed about 20 years back, was restarted and completed. The sports arena of the campus was expanded into a huge complex , covering 15 acres, and also the Ramanathan Fine Arts Academy was transformed into a much bigger institution. This physical development that took place during the six years of my tenure was an important milestone in the history of the University.

Secondly, when I took over the university, there were only four faculties, and by the time I finished my tenure, the number of faculties has increased to eight. Starting with two faculties during the tenure of Professor K. Kailasapthy, the first Vice chancellor, it increased to three during the tenure of Professor S. Vithiyananthan with the addition of the Faculty of Medicine, and to four during the stewardship of Professor A. Thurairajah, with the addition of the Faculty of Agriculture.

Subsequently during my period, the faculties of Business Management Studies, Applied Sciences and Commerce were added. Also, a new program called B. A. in Art & Design was added to the Arts Faculty. At present there are over 250 students enrolled in this program. New subjects such as Psychology, Humanism, Hindu Philosophy, Planning, Economics and English Literature were also introduced during my period. A two-year Diploma course in Physical Training, a one year Diploma course in Fisheries, an M.A. program in Culture, and M.E.D. in Education were also introduced, giving the students an increased number of course options to choose from.

During the seven-year period of my tenure, the University had seven graduation ceremonies with about 8,500 students completing their degrees, bringing the total number of graduates to 12,000 since the inception of the University. I feel good to have had the opportunity of conferring degrees on two third of those who graduated.

Currently action is being taken to add the faculties of Law, Engineering, Sports and Fisheries to the Jaffna campus. Only when these new faculties are added, the student population will increase and the courses will receive accreditation. With the introduction of a requirement, on my initiative to increase caliber of the faculty, that all lecturers should have Ph.D. degrees, fifteen lecturers in the faculty of Arts have already obtained their Ph.D., and others are following Ph.D. programs.

In addition to significant growth achieved, during the last six years, the University was able to obtain funding for the development of new programs through the postgraduate department, including programs for Doctor of Philosophy, Masters Degrees in Education, Pubic Administration, and Culture. A small number of students are following M.A. and M.Phil. courses in Education, Hindu Civilization, Tamil, and Geography. Though the number of students is small, it is a significant milestone for the University, demonstrating the fast growth of demand and enrollment for these programs.

When he was questioned about the relationship between the University of Jaffna and the outside universities, the former Vice Chancellor gave the following reply.

Before my period, such relationship was not active enough. On my initiative, we established joint programs with three other universities in Sri Lanka for the degree programs in “Planning”. Also following several years of efforts over, we succeeded in getting the support needed for conducting a degree program with the University of British Columbia in “Democratic Planning” under the CIDA funding.

We are currently negotiating to add new programs with Upsala University in Canada under CIDA funding, and some universities in Sweden. We continue to develop and strengthen our personal relationship with Professors in several foreign Universities such as Chennai University and Tanjore University in India. We also have significant relationship with some Universities in U.K. for the development of the Science Faculty.

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