The inhumane ragging at the University of Peradeniya has been reaching new heights and the recently reported sexual abuse is the tip of the iceberg, AntiRagging Students’ Collective convener Yukti Ekadeera said yesterday.
Anti Ragging Students’ Collective convener Yukti Ekadeera speaking at the news conference with Sanjeewa Bandara looking on. Pic by Kushan Pathiraja “Physical abuse has taken a turn for the worse, leading to sexual abuse. We also have proof that students are forced to work at the massage parlour,” Mr. Ekadeera said. He said he too was victimized during his first year at the University of Peradeniya when he was beaten and put into a toilet pit.
Anti Ragging Students’ Collective convener Yukti Ekadeera speaking at the news conference with Sanjeewa Bandara looking on. Pic by Kushan Pathiraja “Physical abuse has taken a turn for the worse, leading to sexual abuse. We also have proof that students are forced to work at the massage parlour,” Mr. Ekadeera said. He said he too was victimized during his first year at the University of Peradeniya when he was beaten and put into a toilet pit. According to him, only a handful of the student union leaders take ragging to new heights, deeply scarring the victims. All first year students face the dilemma of choosing between pleasing the student unions and adhering to the University administration, Mr. Ekadeera said.
“We are forced to take part in protests against the University Administration,” Mr. Ekadeera said. The student unions would force the first year students to oppose the University administration’s orders and as a result, the first year students would be suspended, he said.
“These are the terrors that exist within Universities and we want the whole country to know,” Mr. Ekadeera said.
“We are forced to take part in protests against the University Administration,” Mr. Ekadeera said. The student unions would force the first year students to oppose the University administration’s orders and as a result, the first year students would be suspended, he said.
“These are the terrors that exist within Universities and we want the whole country to know,” Mr. Ekadeera said. 
The JVP alleged that the suspending of Students Unions of the Peradeniya University is the first step towards creating a conducive environment for the introduction of Privatisation of free education in the country. The JVP stated that the government’s suppression of the democratic rights of students would lead to bloodshed.
Minister of higher education S.B. Dissanayake speaking to Daily Mirror online stated that certain lecturers were behind yesterdays protest and had instigated the students to behave in the way they did. He further stated that the students involved in acts of intimidation must be expelled.
Undergraduates of the Peradeniya University are currently abstaining from attending lectures and all other forms of academic and extra curricula activities in the university. According to source within the university the Engineering faculty of the university has come to a complete standstill with students refusing to attend lectures. The source went on to state that the strike has been termed unofficial due to the fact that alll unions have been suspended and therefore the strike cannot be termed as official.