General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University

General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University
Motto සිය රටටමයි කවදත්
(“For The Motherland Forever”)
Type Military Academy/State University
Established 11 October 1980
Chancellor General Rohan Daluwatte VSV, ndc, psc, SLE
Vice-Chancellor Major General Milinda Peiris RWP, RSP, psc
Major General Jeewaka Ruwan Kulatunga RSP, ndc, psc
Undergraduates 300
Postgraduates 50
Location Ratmalana, Colombo,
Sri Lanka
Campus Kandawala
Nickname KDA/KDU
Affiliations Association of Commonwealth Universities
Website www.kdu.ac.lk

General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) located at Kandawala, Ratmalana, Colombo, is a joint services academy where cadets of the three wings Sri Lanka Army, Sri Lanka Navy and Sri Lanka Air Force are trained before they go for their pre-commission training to their academies. Established in 1980 as the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence Academy, named after General Sir John Kotelawala, 3rd Prime Minister of Ceylon; it was renamed as a university by an amendment bill passed in Parliament on 11 October 2007.

History

Kandawala and the statue of General Sir John Kotelawala

The General Sir John Kotelawala Defence Academy (the Defence University of Sri Lanka) was inaugurated on 11 October 1980 on a 48-acre (190,000 m2) estate donated by the late General Sir John Kotelawala, CH, KBE, LLD, a former Prime Minister of Ceylon. The KDA functions under the motto For The Motherland Forever, a dictum followed by General Sir John Kotelawala himself.

The KDA was instituted with the objective of educating males and females to be commissioned officers in the armed forces of Sri Lanka. It has been legally established under the Sir John Kotelawala Defence Academy Act No. 68 of 1981 and is governed by a Board of Management consisting of the Secretary of the Defence as the chairman, Commanders of the tri-services, representatives of the University Grant Commission and the General Treasury, and the Commandant of the academy as members.

From 1980 to 1986, a temporary arrangement was made for Service Officer Cadets follow courses in engineering and physical science at the University of Colombo and University of Moratuwa, and they were awarded the degree by the same universities. Later, KDA was elevated to university status subsequent to proposal made to the then government headed by the President J.R. Jayewardene, thus enabling KDA to offer degrees in Defence Studies. Today, the KDU is a member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities, United Kingdom.

A amendment bill was passed in Parliament on 18 March 2007 granting the status of a state university to the KDA.[1] On 11 October 2007 KDA was renamed as the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University.[2]

In October 2015 the KDU began to enrol paying students from foreign militaries starting with a batch of technical officers from Oman Navy.[3]

Academic wing

The degree courses at the KDU run for two to four years. The officer cadets follow a course of study from the fields of law, engineering, management and technical sciences, commerce or arts. At the end of the second year, the officer cadets (other than the Engineering cadets who stay to complete their third-year studies) are sent to their military academies (Sri Lanka Military Academy, Diyatalawa; Naval and Maritime Academy, Trincomalee; Air Force Academy, SLAF China Bay).

Since 2012 the university was opened for non-military students under a payment scheme.These students are allowed to enjoy the academic and other facilities that were available for cadets before.

Academic work is conducted under the direction of the Board of Studies and Board of Management by the Director of Academic Studies. There are eight academic departments. Each department consist of a Head of the Department, internal/visiting staff, and the library.

Departments

Degrees offered by the KDU

KDU offers Bachelor and Master level degrees in the following fields:

Commandants

The following have commanded the college:

See also

References

  1. ↑ KDA becomes University, Bill passed in Parliament
  2. ↑ President inaugurates General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University
  3. ↑ "economynext.com". www.economynext.com. Retrieved 2015-10-29.

External links

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