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Ragging controversy at Tower Hall Drama and Theatre School

30 Sep 2022

  • Senior raggers force juniors to deny being ragged 
  • Administration accused of turning a blind eye despite internal probe 
BY Buddhika Samaraweera   Sources revealed to The Morning that a group of senior students of the Tower Hall Drama and Theatre School, which comes under the Tower Hall Theatre Foundation, is reported to have attempted to force junior students to make false declarations from junior students to the effect that they had never been ragged, despite having subjected them to ragging. Sources also told The Morning that senior students of the said school are ragging junior students in various ways.  Due to several complaints received in this regard, the Drama School administration has instructed the Internal Audit Officer of the Foundation to conduct an investigation in this regard. The sources also claimed that due to the ongoing investigation, the senior students of the school are attempting to force junior ragging victims into submitting declaration letters that they were not ragged. It was also reported that they are attempting to sabotage the investigation into the alleged incidents by propagating the idea that no ragging is taking place at the school. The sources also claimed that senior students are sending various threatening messages to the junior students through social media groups, particularly WhatsApp groups, created by the students for their communication purposes. Through those messages, some of which were shared with The Morning, the junior students are being instructed to declare that they are cordially working with the senior students. Meanwhile, it was also claimed that the administration of the Drama School is not taking adequate steps to prevent junior students from being ragged. Sources charged that the administration is dismissing the complaints regarding ragging without consideration, claiming that “that is the nature of youth”.  When contacted by The Morning, Tower Hall Theatre Foundation Director General Dr. D.M.S. Dissanayake stated that an investigation is being conducted into these incidents. He said that the Internal Audit Officer of the Foundation is conducting the relevant investigation, and that the investigation report will be completed by the coming week. “I also noticed that various messages are being spread through social media platforms. These are young children. They are divided into two sides and are clashing. This is currently being investigated. The intelligence agencies are also gathering information with regard to these incidents,” he said. The Foundation comes under the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious, and Cultural Affairs, and is offering a two-year full-time higher diploma in drama and theatre studies to students who are selected based on their General Certificate of Education Advanced Level Examination results. Following the completion of the said diploma, the students are admitted to the Open University of Sri Lanka, where they complete the degree programme of the Bachelor of Education Honours in Drama and Theatre.  


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