Willing to share Batti Campus ownership with Govt.: Hizbullah

• Proposes share-based sharing agreement with Govt. 
• Says Govt. can decide student recruitment process, administration, even appoint VC
• But insists as campus is BOI project, cannot be taken over by Govt. 
• Denies illegal funding to set up campus 
• Says there were no plans to set up a Sharia university     

Former Eastern Province Governor M.L.A.M Hizbullah yesterday said he is ready to take forward the controversial Batticaloa Campus Ltd. with the participation of the Government, but insisted there was no legal provision for the State to acquire the higher education facility. 

Former Eastern Province Governor and Batticaloa Campus Ltd. Chairman M.L.A.M Hizbullah – Pic by Chamila Karunaratne

Hizbullah, who is also the Batticaloa Campus Ltd. Chairman, told reporters that he was on board with the Government sharing the ownership of the Batticaloa Campus, but that the assets of the company could not be acquired by the State. He also said that even though classes at the campus were supposed to start in July, they had to be postponed due to the situation prevailing in the country. The campus will begin classes from January, he added. 

“I am ready to divide shares of the company in any way the Government would like. The Government can recommend how many shares it wishes to have, how students are recruited, how the campus is administered, and even appoint a Vice Chancellor. We are agreed to all of it. However, this is a project that has Board of Investment approval, as well as other relevant Government institutions, therefore there is nothing illegal about the campus,” he said. 

The former Governor also noted that there had been no plans to teach Sharia law at the campus, nor had permission to teach Islam been sought from the Higher Education Ministry. Hizbullah said he questions how people could jump to the conclusion that it is a Sharia university, simply based on the architecture of the buildings and the date trees planted on the premises. 

He also rejected reports that funding for the campus had been sourced illegally, and said that a reputed organisation had transferred the cash through the Bank of Ceylon, and if there were any questionable transactions,they could have been checked by the bank when the transactions took place. He also denied the statements made by the Parliamentary Oversight Committee looking into the Batticaloa Campus, and said that United National Party (UNP) parliamentarian Prof. Ashu Marasinghe was making personal statements that were not founded on facts. 

“The funds that have been sent have been obtained as a loan. They were transferred in seven tranches over a period of two years. The Rs.3.6 billion was to establish a Campus that would run as a non-profit organisation, and would provide degree programs for Sinhala, Tamil, and Muslim students. As part of the campus, plans were also made to establish a university-city in the area, providing hotels, banks, Government institutions and medical centres for the people in the area,” he added.