Colombo, February 15, 2026 – A controversial University Grants Commission (UGC) circular requiring enhanced supervision for all student-organised activities at State universities has sparked strong objections from both student unions and university lecturers in Sri Lanka.

The UGC Circular No. 02/2026, issued on 6 February to vice-chancellors and directors, instructs that every student-organised event must be overseen at all times by a designated university official — including preparation, setup, the event itself, and post-event dispersal — until further notice. The directive was justified by concerns raised by the UGC’s Centre for Gender Equity/Equality, which cited complaints about unsupervised activities posing safety and wellbeing risks.

However, the move has drawn sharp criticism from the Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) and the Inter-University Students’ Federation (IUSF). FUTA’s general secretary warned that making supervision a legal obligation could expose lecturers to personal liability, fundamentally altering their academic roles. Meanwhile, IUSF leaders described the circular as an attempt to curtail democratic space on campus by imposing excessive control over student affairs.

Attempts to obtain comment from the UGC Chairman were unsuccessful at the time of reporting.