UGC contradicts acting police chief

Attack on students:

November 2, 2015, 9:52 pm 

Acting Chairman of the University Grants Commission Prof. P. S. M. Gunaratne has disputed a statement Acting IGP Senior DIG Pujitha Jayasundara made at a media briefing on Oct. 30 that the UGC officials had not been present to meet protesting Higher National Diploma in Accountancy (HNDA) students the previous day.

Acting IGP SDIG Jayasundara said that he had tried his best to help students meet some UGC officials, but to his dismay there had not been anyone to listen to them and that was where everything went wrong.

Acting UGC Chairman has said he and his officials were available at the time of the incident though the HNDA does not come under the UGC’s purview.

Prof. Gunaratne has said in a letter addressed to The Island editor:

"This refers to the news article that appeared in the The Island newspaper on the 31st of October 2015, regarding the protest made by the Higher National Diploma in Accountancy (HNDA) students on the 29th October 2015.

I wish to maintain the following facts in the above: It states that "Absence of University Grants Commission (UGC) officials cause of Thursday’s incident". I would like to mention that myself and other officers of the UGC were available at the time of the students’ protest.

Also I would like to mention that the Sri Lanka Institute of Advanced Technological Education (SLIATE) does not come under the purview of the UGC."

News Editor’s Note: Our report was based on a statement made by Senior DIG Pujith Jayasundara at the Police Headquarters last Friday.