By Saman Indrajith

The Applied Science students of the Sabaragamuwa University will have to sit for a compulsory language paper in Tamil or Sinhala to complete their degree despite their notification of boycotting the paper, a senior academic of the faculty said yesterday.

Applied Science undergrads strongly opposed sitting for an alternative language paper complaining that they had not been informed of the compulsory language paper.

Explaining the situation, the Dean of the Faculty of Applied Science, Dr. K.K.D.S.Ranaweera said that each student has to learn a third language apart from his or her mother tongue and English in order to pass their degree.

Students of two other faculties namely, Faculty of Management Studies and Faculty of Social Sciences and Languages have already faced this language paper and had obtained good results.

"The decision to set this paper was passed by the senate and the University Council long time ago. Tamil and Muslim students were taught Sinhala and the Sinhalese students had to take Tamil as a subject for over one and half years. Passed out students and organisations visiting the university for career guidance purposes have responded very positively to the move to teach an alternative language. From the beginning the Tamil students participated in classes and are ready to sit for the exam. However, the Sinhalese students were reluctant to attend Tamil class. They did not state any reason for their absence and their average participation was very poor. But they were informed that they would have to sit for the exam," he said.

Answering the students’ allegation that it was not stated in the Student’s Handbook and prospectus given to them by the university, he said that the same student guide has clearly indicated that the Senate has the right to do changes that they think necessary for the development of the course of study.

Dr. Ranaweera further clarified that there was no truth in student activists’ allegation that he had asked them to just sit for the paper and said that students would be automatically passed. A couple of days ago, the president of the Students Council Dananjaya Mangala said that , " the Dean of the Faculty of Applied Science had asked the students to "just sit for the exam and the students would be passed automatically," and that the Applied Science students had demanded an assurance to take that risk but the Dean refused to give a written assurance.

"That statement is totally untrue. I never made such a request. Students might have distorted the truth," he said.

The Vice Chancellor of the Sabaragamuwa University Prof. Dayananda Somasundara denied the allegation of the students and stated that the inclusion of a third language paper was decided by the Senate over one and half years ago. "Such compulsions are very normal in almost all university courses. Many foreign universities have their third languages included in the university curricula. A large number of passed out students had an advantage in finding jobs since they had completed their third language paper," he said.