The Government has addressed three key concerns raised by the Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA), according to Deputy Education Minister Madhura Seneviratne.

Speaking to The Daily Morning, Seneviratne said FUTA had been informed of the steps taken by the Government to address the concerns.

“The first one is the period of the academic year of a student being extended within the university. We have now reached out to the universities and discussed the issues related to delays, whether they are academic, non-academic, or related to physical facilities such as computers. We have taken the necessary measures to address these issues,” he said.

He said the second concern was the recruitment of academic staff.

“We have given advice to the universities to accelerate the recruitment of the academic cadre. We have advised them to recruit to the extent they can, and the Ministry would mediate when there are any hindrances,” he said.

“The final issue was related to admitting students to schools near their parents’ workplaces. Now we have made it possible through a new circular to do so. If there is anything else that needs to be changed in it, we will consider that also next year,” he said.

Seneviratne said these measures taken by the Government were communicated to university teachers during the meeting with FUTA, while the association’s response is yet to be seen.

FUTA had engaged in trade union action on Wednesdays for two consecutive weeks before meeting with the Prime Minister the following week to present its demands. However, FUTA later announced that discussions between the parties had ended without a progressive solution.

Attempts to reach FUTA President Ruchika Fernando were unsuccessful.