Rajarata Medical Faculty closed

January 9, 2012, 10:21 pm , The Island.

by Dasun Edirisinghe

The Faculty of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences, of the Rajarata University, was closed indefinitely yesterday morning as first year undergraduates, who were performing a satyagraha against the suspension of seven senior students, refused to vacate in defiance of a court order.

Vice Chancellor of the University Prof. K. A. Nandasena told The Island that they had asked students to vacate on Saturday, but same first year students had remained within the university premises until last morning.

"We had to close the faculty to prevent further troubles," he said adding university would decide when the faculty would be reopened.

The university administration had to suspend seven senior students of the faculty who were engaged in severe ragging, but the first year students demanded that the suspension order, be withdrawn.

The senior academic said that they had decided to suspend first year students to contain unrest.

Meanwhile, the Students Alliance of the Rajarata Medical Faculty held a media briefing in Colombo along with the JVP dissidents-backed Medical Faculty Students Action Committee yesterday.

Addressing the media, convener of the alliance Chaminda Pushpakumara said that the university administration was continuously engaged in suppressing students who protested against academic and welfare shortcomings.

There was no professorial unit for final year students to do their clinical practices so far, he said adding that university administration had failed to provide the building on the promised date.

"When we protest against these problems, the university administration suspends our leaders claiming they were involved in ragging," Pushpakumara said.

The irate student said that they will not give up the protests until their demands were met.