Committed to uphold Buddhist education despite challenges – President Wickremesinghe

President Ranil Wickremesinghe re-affirmed his commitment to advancing Buddhist education in Sri Lanka, regardless of the challenges faced.

He made this declaration during a scholarship award ceremony held at Temple Trees on Wednesday (24). Three thousand scholarships were awarded to assist student monks, Seela Mathas at Pirivenas and Seela Matha Educational Institutions and lay students countrywide, during the ceremony. This was part of the ‘Presidential Scholarship Programme’ 2024, organised by the President’s Fund under the directives of the President.

Scholarships are being offered to student monks studying up to the Piriven (Ordinary Level), Seela Matha, and lay students studying up to G.C.E. (Ordinary Level). An amount of Rs.9, 000 has been directly credited to the accounts of these students, along with the outstanding instalments and future payments will be made monthly in instalments of Rs.3, 000.

Rs. 6,000 per month will also be awarded to student monks, Seela Matha, and lay students who pass the Piriven (Ordinary Level)/G.C.E. (Ordinary Level) exam and precede to the Piriven Pracheena or G.C.E. (Advanced Level) exams, up until the month they take the exam. Scholarships are to be awarded for a period of 24 months, and Rs. 18,000 was credited to each scholarship recipient’s account on the day of the scholarship ceremony, including outstanding instalments.

Instalment payments will be directly deposited into the bank accounts of other scholarship recipients who were not able to attend the ceremony in the near future.

All scholarship recipients have been selected with the full cooperation of each Piriven Parivenadhipathi Thera or Institute Director, with all activities supervised by the Pirivena Education Division of the Education Ministry.

The President’s Fund allocates nearly Rs. 300 million annually for this scholarship programme.

Addressing the scholarship awards ceremony, President Ranil Wickremesinghe stated: “Today, we are launching a new phase of the ‘Presidential Scholarship Programme’, which now includes provisions for student monks and Seela Matha. We have transferred all outstanding scholarship amounts to the recipients’ bank accounts.

“This scholarship programme has a significant background. I don’t need to elaborate on the hardships faced by the people over the past four years due to the economic downturn. With the stabilisation of the country’s economy, it is time to provide relief to the people. To this end, we have implemented various initiatives such as ‘Aswesuma’ and ‘Urumaya’.

“We have also introduced several scholarship programmes through the President’s Fund to help talented students from low-income families continue their education. Given the country’s economic situation, monks in rural temples are also facing difficulties. We cannot allow monk education to collapse, so we have implemented this scholarship programme for the monks and Seela Matha.

In focusing on the Buddhist order, we must create the necessary conditions for nurturing a new generation of monks in the country. This scholarship programme represents a significant initiative by the Government toward that goal. Buddhist education should be preserved and enhanced. When the Piriven system was established, I had the opportunity to support it. I must emphasise that, despite the country’s challenges, we will never abandon this responsibility.”

Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, Ministers Susil Premajayantha, Prasanna Ranatunga, Bandula Gunawardhana, MPs Vajira Abeywardena, Pradeep Undugoda, Western Province Governor Roshan Gunathilake, Senior Advisor to the President on National Security and Chief of Presidential Staff Sagala Ratnayaka, Secretary to the President Saman Ekanayake, Secretary to the Prime Minister Anura Dissanyake, Secretary to the Public Administration Ministry Pradeep Yasarathne, Senior Additional Secretary to the President and Secretary to the President’s Fund W. A. Sarath Kumara were also present.

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