COLOMBO (News 1st) – Uva Province Tamil Education Minister, Senthil Thondaman claims, an Iranian university named Al Mustafa is conducting courses in schools of the Uva province, without the approval of his ministry.

The minister added that when he inquired regarding the matter, it was revealed that the university’s curriculum was on subjects such as Arabic language, teachings of the Quran and Iranian political science.

Senthil Thondaman, Uva Province Tamil Education Minister noted that another Iranian university and Al Mustafa university together conduct several courses within the Tamil schools in the province and 520 students have enrolled for the Bsc programme while 20 of them are Muslim students and the rest consists of Catholics and Hindus.

The minister noted that the secretary to his ministry would conduct an inquiry in this regard and the CID had recorded statements from the respective individuals.

At the press conference, the minister also revealed that a group of 10, comprising teachers and principals had gone to Iraq without any approval 10 days prior to the Sunday Easter attack.

The Al Mustafa university promoted its course content and curriculum through its official web site and Facebook page. The website states that the Al Mustapha university was an institute approved by the University grants commission.

However, when News 1st inquired from the Ministry of Higher Education and the University Grants Commission, it was denied.

Additionally, the Batticaloa Campus in Punani, Batticaloa is another higher education institute that had raised eyebrows among concerned citizens of the country.

The Batticaloa Campus in Punani falls into the same category as Al Mustafa university since they both have no approval from either the Ministry of Higher Education and University Grants Commission.

However, according to the official website of the Batticaloa Campus, the respective institute is affiliated with several foreign universities.

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