Scholarships worth Rs. 100,000 each were awarded to 361 students who excelled at the 2023/2024 G.C.E. Advanced Level Examination.
The President’s Fund, which privileged groups had misused previously, has now been directed towards its proper purpose by the Government - Prime Minister Dr Harini Amarasuriya
Prime Minister Dr Harini Amarasuriya stated that during the previous administration, the President’s Fund had been misused by privileged groups; however, the present Government has been able to redirect it towards its correct objectives.
She made these remarks while attending a programme held yesterday (14) at the Kandy District Secretariat Auditorium, organised to recognise high-achieving students in the Central Province through the President’s Fund.
At the event, 361 students from Kandy, Matale and Nuwara Eliya districts, who achieved top results in six subject streams at the 2023 and 2024 G.C.E. Advanced Level Examinations, were each awarded a scholarship of Rs. 100,000. A total of Rs. 36.1 million was disbursed by the President’s Fund for this purpose.
Prime Minister Amarasuriya further added that the true purpose for which the President’s Fund was established is now being fulfilled under the present Government and that the Fund is working to deliver facilities directly to citizens in remote villages.
She also pointed out that the Fund is now implementing programmes that go beyond medical assistance, including initiatives to support children’s education, thereby contributing to the creation of a knowledgeable and well-prepared future human resource.
She further stated that the Government is prepared to introduce new educational reforms aimed at producing a human resource with an open mind and exposure to multiple fields, instead of being confined within a single framework. Through this, children will be allowed to realise their dreams.
Addressing the ceremony, Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne noted that nothing else in the world guarantees success as much as the development of human resources.
He emphasised that it is the responsibility of a Government to guide the country’s younger generation properly and productively towards a promising future and highlighted that the President’s Fund is already contributing to this mission. He added that no one can hinder the success the country will achieve through the development of human resources.
Deputy Minister of Transport and Highways Prasanna Gunasena also addressed the gathering.
Deputy Minister of Education and Higher Education Dr Madhura Seneviratne, Members of Parliament, Secretary to the President’s Fund and Senior Additional Secretary to the President Roshan Gamage, Chief Secretary of the Central Province M.A. Premasinghe, Kandy District Secretary Indika Udawatte, officials of the President’s Fund, state officials, principals, teachers and parents were also present at the event.
Meanwhile, a special one-day training workshop was held on 13 September at the Kandy District Secretariat for subject officers from all Divisional Secretariats in the Central Province, with the aim of decentralising the functions of the President’s Fund to the local level.
During this workshop, the subject officers involved in matters relating to the President’s Fund in the districts of Kandy, Matale and Nuwara Eliya were briefed. The programme was intended to enhance the number of beneficiaries of the President’s Fund in the Central Province, provide higher quality services to them, introduce modern digital systems and equip officers with the knowledge and training required to deliver services more efficiently.
