Former UGC Chairman Prof. Kshanika Hirimburegama and former Higher Education Ministry Secretary Dr. Sunil Jayantha Navaratne have been summoned before the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) on Thursday for questioning over the procedure taken to grant the degree awarding status to the SAITM.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) was asked by the COPE to submit a report on Wednesday giving details as to how the degree awarding status was granted to the SAITM. UGC Chairman Prof Mohan de Silva told the Daily News yesterday that the report was nearing completion and it would be ready today. A COPE member said the report was asked as many interesting information about granting degree awarding status to the SAITM could be revealed when the UGC authorities led by its Chairman appeared before the COPE on February 22 along with the Higher Education Ministry Secretary. He also said the Committee’s attention was also drawn to the problem of existing student vacancies in the state universities. “When we considered the student enrolment in the last three years, we found that 5,500 vacancies for students exist in the universities. The COPE discussed the injustice this problem causes to the students. The UGC has come up with a new mechanism to solve this problem and we also asked for a report on that” he said.
Meanwhile, an Adjournment Motion on “Issues pertaining to the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM) in Malabe” will be moved by the JVP in Parliament on Thursday. Its debate will be held from 11.30am to 6.30pm.
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