J’pura students on protest against alleged hostel shutdown
Photos of Sri Jayawardenapura University students holding posters claiming the hostels were shutdown, circulated social media this week.
“Grants cut off, hostels closed, are we, the students of J’pura, supposed to stay on the roads?” one such poster read. “Provide hostel facilities for all needy students,” another such poster read. Photos of these posters can be seen on Facebook.
But University of Sri Jayawardenpura Vice Chancellor Sudantha Liyanage, said hostels were not being shut down.
The Vice Chancellor said two new hostels, which can accommodate more than 1000 students, had been built in Pitipana for the Technology faculty students.
Forty three per cent of the
University’s students already have accommodation, and the increased facilities will allow more students to be accommodated, thus increasing this percentage, the Vice Chancellor pointed out.
In reference to claims made by students on social media, Prof. Liyanage said the outcry came after the university decided to discontinue their lease of eight rented houses that had been used as hostels.
Three of these houses would no longer function as hostels due to the owner’s unwillingness to rent it out for a further period. The discontinuation of the other five houses was due to their redundancy.
The Vice Chancellor also said only eight out of the total 24 homes that had been rented by the university would no longer function as hostels.
“We discontinued the leases on houses that could not accommodate more than 50 students,” Prof. Liyanage said.
Prof. Liyanage also said students who would be moved into on-campus hostels would have access to internet connections, canteen facilities and utilities all for the price of Rs.70 a month.
“We spend between Rs. 3000 to Rs. 4000 for a student each month for these facilities, as well as the accommodation costs,” he added.
He also said security, especially for female students who faced a lot of street harassment, would be better at the on-campus hostels.