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KNDU gets billions from two state banks
View(s):As the Government introduced an amendment to bring the Kotelawala National Defence University (KNDU) under the University Grants Commission (UGC) in the face of ongoing public protests, the university has secured Rs 36.54 billion from two state banks under a Treasury guarantee.
Following the widespread protests across the country against the KNDU bill, the Education Ministry issued a gazette notification on Tuesday amending the Universities Act of 1978 to include “universities for a specific purpose” within the purview of the UGC. Under the current procedure, a state university can only send its estimated budget proposal for the academic year to the UGC for approval and it is the UGC that will secure the funding from the General Treasury, a Commissioner from UGC said.
A Treasury report, seen by the Sunday Times, reveals that two state banks — the National Savings Bank (NSB) and the Bank of Ceylon (BoC) — have been directed by the Treasury to pump to the KNDU Rs 35.07 billion and Rs 835 million respectively.