Deputy Minister Madura Seneviratne says the Ministry of Higher Education has launched a probe into the death of a student from the University of Vavuniya recently. 

Speaking to Newswire, he said the ministry has launched a probe through the University Grants Commission, while the university has also launched an internal probe.

“As of now, the postmortem reveals that the cause of death is due to extensive vomiting as a result of alcohol. The exact cause of the alcohol consumption is uncertain. Investigations are underway to ascertain this,” he said. 

Deputy Minister Madura Seneviratne further said that if the death is linked to any form of ragging or violence, the matter will be referred to the ministry’s committee appointed to address such incidents, to conduct further investigations and initiate action. 

The probes come after it was reported that a 23-year-old student from Vavuniya University had died by suicide recently (31) due to alleged ragging by senior students. 

According to media reports, strong allegations have emerged that senior students had forcibly made new students consume alcohol. (Newswire)

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Deputy Minister of Education Madura Seneviratne says the extension of the school time by 30 minutes will only reduce the after-school hours workload of teachers.

He said that under the new education reforms, the module system will be introduced, where the workload of teachers will be restricted to school hours. 

“Previously, teachers faced a workload which was taken home after school hours. But under the module system, a majority of the work will be conducted during school hours. As such, the workload of teachers after school hours will reduce,” he said. 

Deputy Minister Madura Seneviratne further pointed out that after the extension of 30 minutes for school hours, teachers will be provided with transport, while the workload will also be reduced. 

“I think a very effective change is taking place for the education sector through these reforms,” he added.

Deputy Minister of Education Madura Seneviratne made the remarks to the media while attending an event in Colombo yesterday. (Newswire)

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