University authorities slacked off with COVID prevention: IUSF

Less than 10 facilities for hand washing and low water supply in some universities

The Inter University Students’ Federation ( IUSF) has accused authorities of failing to take measures to prevent the spread of COVID- 19 among university students and the wider population.

I USF Convener Ve n . Rathkarawwe Jinarathana Thera said they wrote to the University Grants Commission ( UGC) this week outlining their concerns after the discovery of the latest large scale COVID-19 cluster linked to an apparel factory in Minuwangoda in the Gampaha district.

Meanwhi l e, the Kelaniya University Students’ Union wrote separately to university authorities after a decision was taken to close the university and send students home.

The Thera said students of the Kelaniya University as well as those at the Wickramarachchi Ayurveda Institute in Gampaha had been told to leave suddenly.

“Students from all over the country study at these institutions. We are astonished that authorities simply told them to go home without conducting PCR tests on at least a few students from the Gampaha district. This was an extremely dangerous and reckless decision,” he said.

Many universities outside the Gampaha district had also not taken adequate precautions to prevent the spread of COVID- 19, he added.

“Some universities have less than ten hand washing facilities for students despite a student population of 14, 000. In universities such as the Rajarata university for example, there is not enough water to drink. Hostel rooms are overcrowded. It is disappointing that even minimum precautions have not been put in place. We highlighted these concerns in our letter to the relevant authorities. We asked for a meeting to discuss these matters but received no response yet,” the Thera said.