• Discussions to commence this week

In the wake of the death of a student at the Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka (SUSL), the University Grants Commission (UGC) says that immediate steps will be taken to counter ragging in universities.

Speaking to The Sunday Morning yesterday (3), UGC Chairman Prof. Kapila Seneviratne said that immediate measures were necessary as any changes to laws took time.

“We are having some meetings next week to discuss next steps. We need to take immediate measures. Investigations are going on,” he added.

Charith Dilshan, a 23-year-old second year student from the Faculty of Technology, took his own life on 29 April due to alleged mental distress caused by a ragging incident that had taken place at his university hostel.

In light of the incident, SUSL Vice Chancellor Prof. Sunil Shantha has appointed a three-member committee chaired by Senior Prof. A.A.Y. Amarasinghe to investigate those responsible for the incident inside the university.

Speaking to The Sunday Morning on Friday (2), Sabaragamuwa University Teachers’ Association (SUTA) President Dr. W.T.L.S. Fernando said that this committee would investigate and report to the Vice Chancellor on students and responsible individuals such as security personnel.

Commenting on the circulation of information on alleged perpetrators on social media, he said that there were doubts regarding the accuracy of the information and the situation had reached a concerning level.

“The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is currently investigating whether the persons being named on social media are connected to the incident. There is still no clarity on whether the people being called out are connected. This is concerning because it affects their lives and might even lead to another person harming themselves,” he added.

Dr. Fernando said that the teachers’ union was in support of the Vice Chancellor’s investigations and was willing to intervene in student activity.

“We are willing to be present during all student activities. In addition to ragging, there are activities such as queuing up first-year students. We are going to keep a watch and stop such activities if we see them happening.”

In 2024, it was reported that the Attorney General’s Department had submitted a series of draft guidelines to support the enforcement of existing laws such as the Prohibition of Ragging and Other Forms of Violence in Educational Institutions Act No.20 of 1998, popularly referred to as the Anti-Ragging Act.

Speaking to The Sunday Morning, anti-ragging activist and Rage.lk Co-Founder Yasu-e Karunaratne said that while the existing law was strong and covered a wide range of possibilities in ragging, it was not a deterrent as it was not being used.

“The act covers quite a bit of ground but the pitfalls are in non-compliance. When an act is not used, no one is scared.”

She alleged that when the Police filed complaints about incidents of ragging, assault, and mental abuse, the Anti-Ragging Act was not utilised, which made it difficult to track the number of cases.

The Online Complaints Mechanism of the UGC is a portal set up for members of the university community to lodge complaints regarding incidents of ragging, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV), intimidation, bullying, and any other form of violence. 

Attempts to obtain information on the number of cases reported to the UGC through the portal proved unsuccessful.