C’bo Uni. Management faculty closed following clash

October 25, 2011, 9:42 pm


by Dasun Edirisinghe

The Management Faculty of the Colombo University was shut down yesterday, until further notice, following clashes between two rival student groups.

The faculty premises were declared out of bounds for all students except for the first-year undergraduates, university sources said adding that the decision to close down the faculty was taken following clashes over ragging incidents.

Immediately following the incident security was beefed up in the area with police personnel being deployed, police spokesman SP Ajith Rohana said adding that a police inquiry into the incident was underway.

The Vice-Chancellor of Colombo University, Prof. Kshanika Hirimburegama said that the Management Faculty had been closed for all but first-year students.

She said that the conflict between the two factions in the Management Faculty had prevailed for several years and that a committee had been appointed to look into yesterday’s incident.

Appropriate action would be taken to suspend the students belonging to the two groups involved in the incident, she said.

Several students received minor injuries and sought medical attention from the Colombo National Hospital, university sources said. One of the injured has been warded at the CNH.

Senior Students Counsellor Premakumara de Silva said that all senior students had been ordered to vacate their hostels with immediate effect. The clash was between two student groups for and against ragging. Ragging would be eliminated from the university at any cost and the students found guilty would be punished, he added.