General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University

General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University

Motto	සිය රටටමයි කවදත් (“For The Motherland Forever”)
Type	Military University /State University
Established	11 October 2007
Chancellor	Admiral Daya Sandagiri RSP, VSV, USP, rcds, psc
Vice-Chancellor	Rear Admiral Jagath Ranasinghe USP, psc
Undergraduates	1500
Postgraduates	50
Location	Ratmalana, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Campus	Urban
Nickname	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

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.

An 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]

KDU opened its southern campus at Sooriyawewa, Sri Lanka on 5 May 2015.^[3]

In October 2015 the KDU began to enrol paying students from foreign militaries starting with a batch of technical officers from Oman Navy.^[4]

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 medicine, 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.

Commandants

The following have commanded the college:

• Major General Milinda Peiris RWP, RSP, USP, ndc, psc - former Chief of Staff (COS) of the Sri Lanka Army
• Major General Sumith Balasuriya, USP, ndc, IG, SLA
• Major General Nanda Mallawaarachchi, RWP, VSV, USP, ndc, psc
• Rear Admiral Nandana Thuduwewatte

See also

• John Kotelawala
• Sri Lanka Military Academy
• Naval and Maritime Academy
• Air Force Academy
• Military of Sri Lanka
• Sri Lanka Army
• Military Academy
• Education in Sri Lanka
• Sri Lankan universities

References

External links

• Official website
• Official website of the Ministry of Defence, Sri Lanka
• Official Army website
• Memorials to a brave, old world by Rashomi Silva
• Life at Sri Lanka’s top Defence University, nationalsecurity.lk