1,987 students gave up Uni education due to ragging

By Ajith Siriwardana and Yohan Perera   
Higher Education Minister Rauff Hakeem said yesterday 1,987 students had abandoned their education because of ragging after they were enrolled at state universities. 

 He told Parliament that the government had adopted a zero-tolerance policy where ragging was concerned, but it was continuing.  

“We are taking effective action to prevent this from happening in universities. The Vice Chancellors and councillors of all the universities were vested with powers to take action against such inhuman activities,” the minister said.  

He said a hot-line had been set up to lodge complaints on sexual and gender-based violence in  universities.  

The minister said the Vanni or the Vavuniya campus of the Jaffna University would be gazetted as a separate fully-pledged university in the Northern Province shortly.