The Batticaloa University is set to begin operations in February 2024.
The Management of the University will call for applications from eligible students both local and foreign for several courses in early January the founder of the University, former Governor M.L.A.M. Hizbullah said.
The University is to be declared open in late December and according to its management at the inception several study courses will be open for students including Artificial Intelligence and Cyber Security, two special requests by the President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
The University has the capacity to host 10,000 students, according to its management.
The Government recently officially handed over Batticaloa University to its founder, former Governor M.L.A.M. Hizbullah.
Eastern Province Governor Senthil Thondaman, on behalf of President Ranil Wickremesinghe, officially returned the University to Dr. Hizbullah during a ceremony at the University premises.
The University, in Poonani, Batticaloa, was under the control of the Government and the military for almost four years. It was taken over by the Government in 2020 in the wake of the unrest caused by the extremists in the Eastern Province following the 2019 Easter Attacks, and later became a treatment centre for Covid-19 patients.
Hizbullah said the University will have facilities for students from different regions to practice their religious observances as well as temporary accommodation facilities for parents or close relatives of both local and foreign students.
Hizbullah said the University will also give opportunities for foreign students, especially from neighbouring countries and this will also help in earning much needed foreign revenue for the country.
“We have established this University at a key location which can easily be accessed not only by people from the East, but also the North, Central, Uva and North Central Provinces as well”, he added.
At the initial stage, courses will be offered in IT, Agri Technology, Tourism and Hospitality Management, etc., while giving equal focus to both academic and practical aspects.
The University will work jointly with the Sri Lanka Technological Campus (SLTC) and in the initial stage will follow the curricula and degree and other courses offered by the SLTC.
The university will have Faculties in Engineering, IT, Architecture and Surveying, Law, Tourism and Business Management, Agricultural Technology and AI. A Medical Faculty too is in the pipeline.
The University has three lecture halls that can accommodate 200 students each, 14 lecture halls that can accommodate 80 students each, eight laboratories with modern facilities, 150 rooms that can accommodate academic and non-academic staff, and residential facilities for 1,000 students.
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