University of Jaffna
The University of Jaffna is a public university in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. Established in 1974 as the sixth campus of the University of Sri Lanka, it became an independent, autonomous university in 1979.
The main campus is located in Thirunelvely, Jaffna. It also has faculties in Ariviyal Nagar near Kilinochchi, Kaithady and Maruthanarmadam near Chunnakam. It has thirteen faculties and thirteen other academic units/centres. The university offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses that award various degrees.
In 2016 the university had 7,972 students and 1,342 employees. It is the seventh largest university in Sri Lanka in student numbers. In 2015/16 the university admitted 3,009 undergraduates. UoJ had a recurrent budget of Rs. 2.2 billion and a capital budget of Rs. 1.2 billion in 2016. Its income in 2016 was Rs. 3.5 billion of which Rs. 3.4 billion was a grant from the central government in Colombo.
The chancellor and the Vice-chancellor are Emeritus Professor Rajaratnam Kumaravadivel and Professor Sivakolundu Srisatkunarajah respectively. UoJ is a member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities.
History
University of Sri Lanka Jaffna campus
On 15 July 1974 Badi-ud-din Mahmud, Minister of Education and Pro-Chancellor of the University of Sri Lanka, declared that the sixth campus of the University of Sri Lanka would be established in Jaffna. K. Kailasapathy, head of the Department of Tamil and Hindu studies of the Vidyalankara campus of the University of Sri Lanka, was appointed as the first president of the Jaffna campus. Extraordinary gazette no. 121/15 was published on 25 July 1974 establishing the Jaffna Campus. The new campus started functioning on 1 August 1974 at the Parameswara College premises in Thirunelvely some 4 km north of Jaffna city centre. Parameswara College had been founded in 1921 by P. Ramanathan.The campus had approval for three faculties and one department. Only the Humanities and Science faculties were functioning when the campus started taking students in October 1974. The Faculty of Humanities and campus administration were based at Thirunelvely. The Faculty of Science was based at the undergraduate section of Jaffna College, Vaddukoddai which had been taken over by the government on 13 August 1974.
The Faculty of Humanities was renamed Faculty of Arts in 1975. The Ramanathan Academy of Fine Arts, based at Ramanathan College in Maruthanarmadam, was taken over by the Jaffna Campus on 1 December 1975. The Faculty of Science moved to Thirunelvely in June 1978 and the Jaffna College site was returned to its former owners the Jaffna Diocese of the Church of South India. The Faculty of Medicine was established on 7 August 1978 with its base at the Ayurvedic Hospital in Kaithady.
University of Jaffna
The Universities Act No. 16 of 1978 radically altered university education in Sri Lanka. The University of Sri Lanka was abolished and its six campuses were each elevated to independent, autonomous universities. A gazette was issued on 22 December 1978 establishing the University of Jaffna with effect from 1 January 1979.The Faculty of Medicine was shifted to Thirunelvely in 1981. Construction of a new library, student centre and arts block began in 1981 but were halted due to the civil war. The Siddha section of the Institute of Indigenous Medicine was moved from the University of Colombo to the University of Jaffna in July 1984. The partially completed library started functioning in 1986.
The escalation of hostilities between the Indian Peace Keeping Force and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in late 1987 severely affected the university. UoJ buildings and equipment suffered extensive damage. Students and academic/non-academic staff were killed. During the late 1980s/early 1990s, when most of the Jaffna peninsula including Jaffna city was under LTTE control, the university suffered frequent aerial bombings, shortage of essential goods due to the economic blockade, shortage of academic staff many of whom had fled abroad and a general disturbance of academic life due to the frequent curfews.
The university was given approval in 1985 to establish a Faculty of Agriculture in Kilinochchi. Construction of a new building in Kilinochchi began in 1986 but was abandoned in 1987 due to the civil war. In October 1989 approval was given to establish a Faculty of Engineering in Kilinochchi, but the civil war prevented this. The Faculty of Agriculture started functioning in December 1990 at buildings belonging to the Regional Agriculture Research and Development Centre and the District Training Centre of Department of Agriculture in Kilinochchi.
In October 1995, as the Sri Lankan military launched a military offensive to recapture the Jaffna peninsula, virtually the entire population of the Valikamam region fled to other parts of the peninsula and the Vanni. The university administration was transferred to the Faculty of Agriculture in Kilinochchi. Most of the equipment and furniture at Thirunelvely was lost during the absence. The university's administration returned to Thirunelvely in 1996 after the military had recaptured most of the peninsula including Jaffna city. The escalation of hostilities in the Vanni in 1996 caused severe disruption to the Faculty of Agriculture which was forced to move several times. The University Council decided to move the faculty. In August 1997 studies re-commenced at the faculty's new premises in Jaffna.
A gazette was issued on 26 March 1997 upgrading the Northern Province Affiliated University College in Vavuniya to the Vavuniya campus of the University of Jaffna. The NPAUC was established in 1991 to offer courses in mathematical sciences, accountancy and finance. The Vavuniya Campus had two faculties - Applied Science and Business Studies - each with two departments. In 1999 the Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce was created from parts of the Faculty of Arts. The Faculty of Graduate Studies was created in the same year.
Construction of a new building for the Faculty of Agriculture at Ariviyal Nagar, Kilinochchi began after the end of the civil war in 2009. The faculty expects to relocate to Ariviyal Nagar in 2013. In April 2011 the university's senate approved the establishment of a Faculty of Engineering in Kilinochchi next to the Faculty of Agriculture. The first batch of students are expected to be admitted in September 2012.
The Faculty of Technology was established in 2016. The faculty is expected to admit its first students towards the end of 2016. It will be located near the Faculty of Agriculture and Faculty of Engineering in Kilinochchi.
Campus
The university is based at five sites: Thirunelvely, Vavuniya, Ariviyal Nagar, Kaithady and Maruthanarmadam.The Thirunelvely campus is split into two. The main site off Ramanathan Road contains three faculties - Arts, Management Studies & Commerce and Science - as well as the main administrative departments, library and student complex. The second site off Adiyapatham Road contains the Medicine faculty. The Faculty of Graduate Studies is based in a rented house on Ramanathan Road opposite the university.
The Vavuniya campus is based at several sites in the town as well as in the outskirts of Vavuniya. The campus plans move all its functions to the spacious Pambaimadhu site on the Mannar-Vavuniya Road. This site houses the Faculty of Business Studies and student hostels. The Faculty of Applied Science is in Vavuniya.
The faculties of Agriculture, Engineering and Technology are based at Ariviyal Nagar near Murukandy, south of Kilinochchi.
The Ramanathan Academy of Fine Arts is in Marthanamadam and the Siddha Medicine Unit is in Kaithady.
Organisation and administration
The current chancellor is Emeritus Professor R. Kumaravadivel, appointed by the president of Sri Lanka in August 2025. The vice-chancellor is Professor S. Srisatkunarajah who took office on 2020. The current rector of the Vavuniya Campus is T. Mangaleswaran. The most senior non-academic staff is registrar V. Kandeepan.The University of Jaffna has ten faculties and ten other academic units/centres:
Faculties
- Faculty of Agriculture
- Faculty of Allied Health Science
- Faculty of Arts
- Faculty of Engineering
- Faculty of Graduate Studies
- Faculty of Hindu Studies
- Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce
- Faculty of Medicine
- Faculty of Science
- Faculty of Technology
- Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan Faculty of Performing and Visual Arts
- Career Guidance Unit
- Computer Centre
- Internal Quality Assurance Unit
- Open and Distance Learning Center
- Physical Education Unit
- Siddha Medicine Unit
- Staff Development Centre
- Sports Science Unit
- Strategic Planning & MIS Unit
- UBL Cell
Faculty of Agriculture
| Dean | Took office | Left office |
| S. Kandiah | October 1990 | March 1991 |
| A. Navaratnarajah | April 1991 | October 1992 |
| S. Mohanadas | October 1992 | March 1994 |
| A. Navaratnarajah | March 1994 | March 1997 |
| R. Vijayaratnam | May 1997 | May 2000 |
| S. Rajadurai | May 2000 | June 2006 |
| S. Sivachandiran | June 2006 | June 2012 |
| G. Mikunthan | June 2012 | December 2013 |
| S. Sivachandiran | January 2014 | June 2015 |
| T. Mikunthan | June 2015 | June 2018 |
The University of Jaffna started campaigning for the establishment of a Faculty of Agriculture at the university in 1981. The University Grants Commission gave its approval in 1985. The town of Kilinochchi was identified as a suitable location for the new faculty and construction of a new building began in 1986. Construction was abandoned in 1987 due to the civil war. The new faculty started functioning in December 1990 at buildings belonging to the Regional Agriculture Research and Development Centre and the District Training Centre of Department of Agriculture in Kilinochchi.
The escalation of hostilities in the Vanni in 1996 caused severe disruption to the faculty, which was forced to move several times. The University Council decided to move the faculty to Jaffna and in August 1997 studies re-commenced at the faculty's new premises in Jaffna.
Construction of a new building for the faculty at Ariviyal Nagar, Kilinochch began after the end of the civil war in 2009. This building complex was renovated with the state fund and Faculty of Agriculture started to function in that place since December 2014. During this year two foreign funded projects from India and Japan were discussed, formulated and submitted for funding aiming to improving the infrastructure facilities at the faculty. The faculty has established crop and livestock farms in Ariviyal Nagar, Kilinochchi to provide a sound practical training in Agriculture to the students. To support the academic programmes as well as the outreach activities, the faculty has absorbed an Integrated Farm and Training center located at Puliyankulum. Meantime a skill development center consisting of Conference hall, Computer unit, Library, Canteen and student complex was built with the financial support of the Government of India. These facilities are well utilized by the students as well as the postgraduate students and staff. A full-fledged Research and Training Complex has been established with the support of Japan International Cooperation Agency in 2021. At present, the Faculty of Agriculture is functioning with quite enough facilities for teaching, learning and research.
The faculty offers undergraduate courses which lead to Bachelor of Science in Agriculture degrees.
The faculty is currently divided into six departments:
- Department of Agricultural Biology
- Department of Agricultural Economics
- Department of Agronomy
- Department of Agricultural Chemistry
- Department of Agricultural Engineering
- Department of Animal Science