During a meeting of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE), it was revealed that ten students of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura were unjustly charged a monetary penalty in connection with damages caused to a university hostel due to a student clash.
The committee pointed out that the amount charged was three times the actual value of the damaged university property, which is the maximum amount that can be legally charged, along with an additional surcharge of 25%, the Parliamentary Communication Department said in a statement.
Accordingly, the Vice-Chancellor of the university informed the committee that if there has been an error in the calculation of the charges, steps would be taken to rectify it.
The Chair of the committee further instructed the officials to reconsider the fairness of imposing the fine only on one party involved in the clash, and not both parties.
These matters were discussed during the COPE meeting held on the June 20 at the Parliament under the Chairmanship of Dr. Nishantha Samaraweera, MP, to examine the audit reports for the years 2022 and 2023 and the current performance of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, the statement added.
The committee held extensive discussions on various issues, including the composition of the university staff, the financial situation, the condition of buildings and constructions, and the relationship between the students and the university administration, emphasizing the need to maintain a student-friendly environment.
It was also disclosed during the committee meeting that the university’s full-time bursar had been released to serve as a non-executive director of a private company. Committee members raised concerns over releasing a person holding a full-time position without consulting the Ministry, describing such decisions as problematic.
Responding to this, the Registrar stated that the bursar was released in a manner that would not hinder her official duties. Nevertheless, the committee was informed of the number of leave days obtained by the bursar and that there had been 44 days in 2024 for which no arrival or departure entries had been recorded. The Chair instructed the Registrar to rectify this information.
The committee also had an in-depth discussion about the recruitment of a project manager without a formal public announcement or a proper application process, which was deemed a deviation from the accepted recruitment procedures, it added.
Accordingly, the committee chairman directed the Secretary to the Ministry to investigate and prepare a report on the problematic recruitment practices in the university’s staff appointments.
Further, the committee discussed the university’s financial deposits.
It was revealed that although Rs. 10,500 had been charged per student for the 2024 external degree convocation, over Rs. 5.3 million remained unutilized after the event.
The committee drew attention to this matter and instructed the officials to determine such fees in a more affordable manner for students. The university administration informed the committee that they have decided to reduce the amount charged for convocations from this year onwards, it further added.
Meanwhile, the committee also held lengthy discussions on the existing and past problematic conditions related to the university’s buildings and construction projects.
Members of Parliament Dayasiri Jayasekara, Attorney at Law, Nilanthi Kottachchi. Attorney-at-Law, Ruwan Mapalagama, Asitha Niroshana Egoda Vithana, Thilina Samarakoon, Chandima Hettiaratchi, and Lakmali Hemachandra, Attorney at Law participated in this committee meeting.
