Weak administrators root of crisis – Omalpe thera

Buddhist and Pali University crisis

The current administration of the Buddhist and Pali University, including the Vice Chancellor, is responsible for the deterioration of discipline and academic performance of the institute, Chief Sanghanayake (Dakshina Lankawa) of the Ramanna Sect Ven. Omalpe Sobitha Thera says.

“The university must be reopened after a complete overhaul of the current administration. We need a new administration that is not beholden to politicians,” he said.

Sobitha Thera said that the Buddhist and Pali University had been established by Ven. Walpola Rahula Thera to create a new generation of Buddhist scholars. However, recent reports showed that both discipline and academic performance of the institute had declined.

“The decline of the university is not of recent origin. Things have been deteriorating for 40 years. The university administrators have done nothing to improve the institution. What has the university administration done to enforce discipline? What did the lecturers and professors do? What did the security guards and those in charge of discipline do?” the thera asked.

Sobitha Thera said that it was impossible to teach indisciplined students. However, the responsibility to teach and maintain discipline lay with the teachers.

“The Buddha has clearly stated what the relationship between students and teachers should be. It’s obvious that this convention is absent at the Buddhist and Pali University. The university administration and teachers have not done their duty. They have only drawn salaries. They have misused public funds. We need a new administration before reopening the university,” he said.