COPE says about Rs 30 billion is owed over university lecturers' bond defaults

About 30 billion rupees is due to be recovered across Sri Lanka's university system from lecturers who breached agreements and bonds, the Committee on Public Enterprises has said. Officials have been instructed to develop a proper mechanism to recover money from those who have gone overseas.

The issue arose at a November 4 meeting chaired by MP Dr Nishantha Samaraweera, which examined Eastern University's current operations and audit reports for 2023 and 2024. The committee noted the absence of a Treasury representative on the university's Audit and Management Committee despite annual state funding of around three billion rupees.

COPE also raised a conflict of interest involving a senior assistant internal auditor who handles financial matters while acting as chief internal auditor. Missing personal files, academic certificates, promotions, study leave and medical-equipment procurement were among the other matters questioned.

The committee examined the failure to recover an overpayment of 3,633,900 rupees to a lecturer who left to contest an election and later returned. It was also told that 99,181,457 rupees in salary payments had not been recovered from 38 support staff who took excess leave without using fingerprint attendance. COPE directed officials to speed up legal changes enabling intervention by the University Grants Commission.