The General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) is to be developed as an international higher education institute, Deputy Minister Aruna Jayasekera told Parliament on Friday, the Daily Mirror reported.
New courses including national defence and marine studies will be introduced soon, and greater weight will be placed on research and related activities, the Deputy Minister said.
He was answering a question raised by MP Ajith P. Perera.
Hiru News reported the same exchange in near-identical terms, confirming the announcement, the two named course areas and the research emphasis. Neither account adds anything the other omits.
The detail the statement leaves out
The report is brief and carries no timetable, budget, or foreign partner. It does not say whether “international higher education institute” describes a change in KDU’s legal status, its degree-awarding arrangements, or simply an intention to recruit more foreign students.
That distinction matters. KDU is established under the Ministry of Defence and trains officer cadets alongside fee-paying civilian students across faculties including medicine, engineering, law and management. Jayasekera is a retired Major General and serves as Deputy Minister of Defence, and the Daily Mirror does not say whether an international designation would change how local civilian students are admitted.
It matches the new Vice Chancellor’s stated priorities
The emphasis on research echoes the agenda set out by Air Vice Marshal Indika Wickramasinghe, who took office as KDU Vice Chancellor on 3 September. Addressing faculty deans on his first morning, he named improving standards through quality education, strengthening academic excellence and increasing research output as his key priorities.
KDU’s research and development capacity was also among the areas examined in the pre-budget discussion on integrating defence research centres in August.
Not reported
Both reports are brief. Neither states when the national defence and marine studies courses will open, at what level they will be offered, who will teach them, or whether they are intended for local or foreign students. Perera’s question is not reproduced, and no follow-up from the opposition is reported. Neither outlet says whether legislation would be required, or whether the University Grants Commission has any role.
