Cabinet nod for proposal to amend Universities’ Act

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Following the controversy over the Batticaloa campus, Cabinet approved a proposal to enact a piece of legislation in the form of an amendment to the Universities’ Act to regulate the private higher educational institutes effectively.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe submitted the Cabinet memorandum seeking to amend the Universities Act No. 16 of 1978.

According to the proposed amendment to the Act, every degree awarding institute should be open to all eligible persons irrespective of race, religion or sex. Also, every institute should have its annual accounts audited and report all donations received by it.

The government has taken steps in this regard after it was found that the Batticaloa campus received as much as US $ 100 million (Nearly Rs.17 billion) from an unlawful organization in Saudi Arabia. According to initial investigations, only Rs. 4 billion had been spent by the campus authorities.