Dear members of staff and students,
I write to you with a sense of sadness that Sri Lanka once again is dealing with yet another "wave of the COVID19 pandemic".
As per the community guidelines circulated over the weekend, we as a responsible university community have to ensure the safety of our staff and students.
I have every confidence that each and everyone of you will do your utmost to keep yourselves and your families safe.
Most unfortunately, our locality in the metropolitan city adds to the many challenges we face. This is particularly challenging for our staff and students who reside outstation, when the risk associated with public transport remains high; while the need to restrict physical mobility is of paramount importance to contain the pandemic.
I do appreciate that you have made many sacrifices over the past year and cooperated with the numerous restrictions imposed from time to time. I am disappointed that we had to postpone the convocation ceremony scheduled from 4th - 6th May 2021, along with some on-site examinations.
We remain conscious that field visits, student research projects and internship/industry training have also been curtailed over the past year.
Kindly cooperate with your Rector / Dean / Director and Heads of Departments in terms of the adjusted schedules and plans made for the next 2 weeks.
We hope these are short term measures.
We shall re-assess them regularly and ensure we revert to normalcy as soon as possible.
Stay safe!
Yours truly,
Chandrika Wijeyaratne
Vice Chancellor
University of Colombo
Sri Lanka