Hon. Ravi Karunanayake
2026-02-20
The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake highlighted that 418,637 economically disadvantaged students have benefited from a programme originally initiated by Lalith Athulathmudali. He drew attention to the limited capacity of the state university system, noting that only approximately 55,800 of the 177,000 students who pass Advanced Level examinations gain UGC-allocated university places. Karunanayake asked the Government to consider establishing a university named in honour of Lalith Athulathmudali in response to this educational access gap.
Mr. Speaker, under the visionary programme initiated by the distinguished statesman Lalith Athulathmudali, 418,637 economically disadvantaged students have benefitted. I wish to ask, through you, whether the Government would consider establishing a university in his honour, given that only about 55,800 of the 177,000 who pass Advanced Level gain admission to state universities via the UGC.