News
‘Claims of militarization of education at KNDU totally baseless’ – Defence Secretary
Thousands of children in Sri Lanka have entered General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) to fulfill their dreams for higher education, says Defence Secretary, Gen. (Retd) Kamal Gunaratne.
“The KDU has been open to everyone who deserves. A valuable opportunity has been created for students who are Advanced Level (A/L) qualified in terms of the directions of the President and the Prime Minister for the maximum use of human capital, available resources and the vast knowledge that can be disseminated by the KDU”, he noted.
The Defence Secretary made these remarks during a program aired by the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) to discuss the newly drafted Kotelawala National Defence University (KNDU) Bill.
Education Ministry Secretary, Prof. Kapila Perera and KDU Vice Chancellor, Maj. Gen. (Retd) Milinda Peiris also expressed their views on the proposed piece of legislation.
The student intake to national universities has been increased to 41,000 under the direction of the President in consultation with the Minister of Education, Secretary of the Ministry of Education and the University Grants Commission, Gunaratne said.
“Despite the increase in the student intake, a considerable segment of A/L qualified students are still unable to pursue their higher education”.
He said there’s a drain of foreign exchange as affluent parents send their children for studies to universities overseas. Some other parents enroll their children to local university colleges affiliated to foreign universities, which again means that substantial foreign currency is transferred overseas.
“However, children of poor families in our country are deprived of avenues to fulfill their higher education dreams as they are not in a position to afford a costly education in foreign universities”, the Defence Secretary said, while asking whether it is wrong to afford an opportunity to deserving students to make their life a success.
Dismissing allegations leveled against the proposed KNDU Bill, he said the picture painted by some sections over so-called militarization of education was totally baseless.
Referring to Defence Universities in the world, he pointed out that well-qualified and academically sound senior military officers serve as Vice Chancellors (VC) of such institutions and the KDU VC is also such a qualified official who is supported by the academic staff consisting mostly of civil scholars including the Deputy VC responsible for academic matters.
The Defence Secretary further assured that the future graduates produced by the KDU would be academically sound, well-disciplined scholars who possess leadership qualities,
“Education is a very powerful tool and every one of us has been nurtured through education”, Education Ministry Secretary Prof. Kapila Perera said.
KDU Vice Chancellor Maj. Gen. Milinda Peiris elaborated on the various stages of the evolution of the University in line with available provisions and the procedure being followed to elevate the KDU to an internationally-recognized University similar to all other National Universities in Sri Lanka.
News
Cabinet nod to increase the number of new automated passenger clearance gates at the Bandaranayake International Airport to 12
Approval of the Cabinet of Ministers was granted at their meeting held on 19.05.2025 to purchase four (04) automated passenger clearance gates for Bandaranayake International Airport.
In addition, it is expected to extend the automated passenger clearance gates facility so far given only to the Sri Lankans
parallel to the e – passport issuance system to be introduced in the year 2027 also to the foreigners who travel to and from this country.
Furthermore, considering also the number of air passengers rapidly increasing with the fast – forwarding business and tourism field, the appropriateness to increase the total automated passenger clearance gates up to twelve (12) in number has been recognized.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers, approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs to initiate the procurement and installation of 12
automated passenger clearance gates altogether with the already approved four (04) and another eight (08) automated passenger clearance gates adhering to the formal procurement procedure
Based on the observations submitted by the Task Force on Prevention of Money Laundering and Financing for Terrorism, approval of the Cabinet of Ministers was granted at their meeting held on 18.12.2024 to amend the Trust Ordinance No. 9 of 1917 including amendments proposed by the Financial
Intelligence Unit of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
Accordingly, clearance of the Attorney General has been granted for the Trust (Amendment) Draft Bill formulated by the Legal Draftsman.
Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Justice and National Integration
to publish the said draft bill in the government gazette notification and thereby, submit the same to the Parliament for its concurrence.
Action was taken to provide a fuel relief for the fuel consumers during the months of April, May and June of 2026 to redress by minimizing the impact caused to the day today life of the citizens of this country as well as the entire economy due to the price hike of petroleum fuel in the global market resulting from the war situation in the Middle East.
Government mediation is essential for minimizing the impact on the day to today life of citizens in this country due to that war situation not being ended further. Therefore, it has been planned to redress on the sale price for Auto Diesel and Industrial Diesel for a period of 03 months by the Government to provide relief to the public as well as to maintain the prices at a bearable level to the consumers without escalating the fuel prices in this country compared to the escalation of fuel prices
in the international market.
Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval for the resolution furnished by the President in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development to
allocate provisions subject to the monthly limitations respectively as rupees 15 billion for the month of October, rupees 13.5 billion for the month of November and rupees 12.15 billion for the month of December to provide the said relief
Cabinet nod to increase the number of new automated passenger clearance gates at the Bandaranayake International Airport to 12
Draft Bill for amending the Trust Ordinance
Implementing further relief programme to Public sffected by the Middle East conflict situation
Establishment of a Spectrum Management and Monitoring System and a Quality of Service and Quality of Experience System for the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka
Appointment of a Committee for the Restitution of Sri Lankan Cultural Heritage Held Abroad
Ten-Year National Action Plan on the Social Protection Sector (2026–2035)
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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