Undergrads seek President’s intervention to stop ragging

December 21, 2011, 10:09 pm , The Island

by Dasun Edirisinghe

Students of the Peradeniya University yesterday appealed to President Mahinda Rajapaksa to intervene to stop brutal ragging.

Addressing a press conference in Colombo, an Arts Faculty student of the University, Yukthi Ekadeera said that the Ministry of Higher Education and University administration’s efforts to stop ragging, which takes place especially in university hostels, had been in vain.

He said that 150 students of the Peradeniya Arts Faculty had given up studies due to severe ragging during the past three years.

"According to our information, 52, 39 and 59 students gave up university education in 2008, 2009 and 2010 respectively due to ragging," Ekadeera said.

He said that those students did not complain to either the university administration or the University Grants Commission for fear of reprisal.

A student has been admitted to the Kandy Hospital due to ragging but now student leaders were demanding the release of four undergraduates who were arrested over the incident, Ekadeera said.

According to the statistics of the medical centre, 115, 100 and 185 students had been treated during the so-called rag season in 2008, 2009 and 2010 respectively, Ekadeera said.

Second year arts faculty student Sanjeewa Bandara said that he too had undergone torture at the hands of his seniors in the name of ragging and called for an end to the inhuman practice.