The newly appointed Vice Chancellor at the University of Colombo launched a scathing attack on undergraduates at the university this week.
Professor H.D. Karunaratne was speaking at an event aimed at sending students from Sri Lanka to Tokyo University, with Sri Lanka’s education minister, Chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC) and Japan’s ambassador to the country were all present at the event.
Whilst he praised students at Tokyo, Karunaratne said that undergraduate students in Colombo “were an utterly irresponsible and destructive lot, in spite of receiving government sponsorship and assistance”, labelling them “nothing but a burden on the society and the government as well”.
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His tirade comes just weeks after several students refused to accept their degree certificates from the newly appointed University Chancellor, and Rajapaksa-aligned, Buddhist monk Muruththettuwe Ananda at a graduation ceremony in December.
The appointment of the monk also led to opposition from the University of Colombo’s Science Teachers’ Association (UCSTA).
Though Karunaratne critiqued students, his new appointment at the University of Colombo is only set to start in April.
