Will not allow protesters into ministry if they turn up unannounced - Bandula

Co-Cabinet Spokesman and Higher Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena said today (13) that henceforth, student protesters will not be admitted to the premises of the Higher Education Ministry if they turned up unannounced. 

Speaking during the Cabinet media briefing this morning, Minister Gunawardena said there was "no point" in student protesters coming to his ministry when he was not there. "I have told them time and again to let me know when they are coming so that I can be there to meet them and discuss their demands. I will make time for them, but they need to let me know when they are coming."

The minister's comments followed a protest march yesterday by the Inter University Students' Federation (IUSF). The protesters made their way to the Higher Education Ministry premises, where they were let in. They demanded to meet the minister but he was not in. The students then proceeded to briefly occupy the ministry grounds. They later met with an Additional Secretary to the Ministry and the Chairman of the University Grants Commission.