The Supreme Court on Thursday (05) ordered the University Grants Commission (UGC) to immediately admit a Sri Lankan student to a state university medical faculty, ruling that his earlier rejection violated his fundamental rights.
The Court found that the student, who completed the Indian equivalent examination equivalent to Sri Lanka’s GCE Advanced Level and met the required qualifications, had been unfairly denied admission.
The petitioner, residing in Borella, passed the GCE Ordinary Level in Colombo before moving to Russia due to his father’s embassy posting. There, he completed the Senior School Certificate Examination, attended by students from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, which he maintained was equivalent to the GCE Advanced Level.
He applied through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for admission to a medical faculty, but the application was rejected for not meeting admission criteria.
The UGC has a strict criteria of 3 years study abroad prior to seeking admission to Sri Lankan universities .
The son of the defense attaché argued that his father was posted only for a period of two years and he could never have met the criteria . He said the criteria violated his fundamental rights.
Delivering the judgment, Justice Arjuna Obeysekera, with Justices Janak de Silva and Sobhitha Rajakaruna, noted that the petitioner met all relevant criteria and that the three year mandatory criteria was irrational for children of defense attaches .
The Court directed the UGC to admit him immediately to a medial faculty of a state university.Hafeel Farisz with Nishika Fonseka appeared for the Petitioner and Deputy Solicitor General Ganga Wakishtarachchi appeared for the UGC (NewsWire)