Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2024-04-08 (Subject to Confirmation at the next Meeting)

Enrollment of Students (Day Scholars) for the Degree in Medicine at the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, on Payment Basis

- The General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University has been established under the Sir John Kotalawela Defence Academy (Amendment) Act No.27 of 1988. The Faculty of Medicine of this university has been initiated in the year 2011 to train Officer Cadets as Medical Professionals according to the service requirements of the armed services and award them degrees of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery. Accordingly, as of now, the opportunity of following the Medical degree programme is granted to the local students only on enlisting as Officer cadets to the Tri-Forces or the Police and to the students with foreign qualifications only on the payment basis. Further expanding the said opportunity, it has been planned to enroll duly qualified applicants to the medical degree course, on payment basis from the year 2024 onwards. Accordingly, Cabinet approved the proposal made by the Hon. President in his capacity as the Minister of Defence to enroll students to follow the degrees of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery to the Medical Faculty of the Sir General John Kotelawala Defence University, on payment basis, following a criteria prepared including several other qualifications in addition to the Z-score system presently being followed by the University Grants Commission to enroll students to the National Universities in Sri Lanka.