Prof. Hiriburegama says there is nothing illegal or unethical in her appointment
May 26, 2014, 12:00 pm ,The Island
By Dasun Edirisinghe
Working
as a director of a non-state medical college, recognised by the
University Grants Commission (UGC) while being the head of the UGC was
not unethical or illegal, UGC Chairperson Prof. Kshanika Hirimburegama
said yesterday.
She was responding to the
Inter-University Students’ Federation’s (IUSF) claim that it is not
suitable for the person, who is handling the top post of the governing
body of the state universities to be appointed as a director to promote
a private university.
Prof. Hirimburegama said
that the UGC Chairman had to be on the board of the Malabe Private
Medical College (South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine -
SAITM) to monitor admission and academic processes.
"Therefore I was appointed as a director of SAITM," Prof. Hirimburegama said.
The
UGC Chairman said that the government promoted private medical
colleges and engineering universities for students who could not enter
the state universities through the highly competitive GCE (A/L)
examination.
It was not the first time that a member of the UGC had been appointed as a director of a private university, she said.
Prof. Hirimburegama said that she had not taken a salary as a board member of the Malabe Private Medical College.
However.
IUSF Convener Najith Indika said that it was the first time that a
head of the UGC was appointed to the board of a private university.
He
said that the UGC was the governing body controlling state
universities and promoting private universities should not be its task.
"They should ensure protection of free education instead of promoting
private universities in Sri Lanka," Indika said, adding that they would
take to streets against the appointment as it had led to a conflict of
interest.
