The Hon. (Dr.) Harini Amarasuriya

¶ 01 Mr. Speaker, there is a severe hostel problem across State universities. Over the past years there were Government decisions not to build new hostels, while student intake, faculties and departments increased; hostel capacity did not. Therefore, a severe crisis has emerged.

¶ 02 We conducted a space audit within universities to identify existing buildings that could be converted to hostels and to plan the gradual increase of hostel capacity. The UGC has discussed with the Vice-Chancellors and has submitted a plan to the Ministry. We intend to implement accordingly.

¶ 03 Hon. Member, this is not only at the University of Colombo; it is a severe issue especially for campuses away from Colombo, where private options are very limited. In some places like Kilinochchi campus, students cannot attend without proper hostel facilities. Therefore, we are working to systematically increase hostel capacity within universities.