DailyMirror
J’pura university launches special inquiry
The University of Sri Jayawardenapura has launched a special inquiry to find out how a millionaire German businessman had been awarded an “Honorary Degree” by an institution that claimed to be affiliated to the University, its Vice Chancellor Dr. N.L.A. Karunarathna said.
He said that according to the decision taken by the Senate of the Sri Jayawardenapura University a retired High Court Judge would be appointed to conduct this inquiry.
The Vice Chancellor stated that this Honorary Degree had been awarded by an organization calling itself “Professor Hema Ellawala Foundation” that had claimed to be affiliated to the University of Sri Jayewardenepura but this was not an institution recognized by the University.The matter had come to light following a query made by the Foreign Ministry from the Vice Chancellor of the university as to whether the German national, Ulrich F.L. Beheman, had been awarded an Honorary Degree by the “Professor Hema Ellawala Foundation” affiliated to the University. The Vice Chancellor had informed the Foreign Ministry that the University did not recognize the existence of such a foundation.
The awarded doctorate the German national claimed to have been decorated with from the foundation is the doctorate “Doctor of Philanthropy.” The German government had passed a law that before a German national could use a degree or doctorate awarded by a foreign university they have to provide proof of the legitimacy of that degree or doctorate. Therefore, the German national, Beheman, who claimed to have been awarded the doctorate by the said foundation in Sri Lanka had informed the German government of it and requested that he be allowed to use the title. Following the receipt of this request, the German Foreign Ministry had made an inquiry about the validity of the doctorate from their counterparts in Sri Lanka who in turn inquired about the matter from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura.