- The President’s Fund will award a grant of one hundred thousand rupees each to 360 A-Level students from the Eastern Province who excelled across all subject streams.
The Eastern Province programme to recognize high-achievers at district level in the 2023/2024 G.C.E. Advanced Level Examination, implemented by the President’s Fund, was held yesterday (27th July) at the Swami Vipulananda Institute of Aesthetic Studies in Batticaloa. The event was presided over by Hon. Speaker (Dr) Jagath Wickramaratne.
During the ceremony, 360 students—10 from each of the six subject streams across the Ampara, Batticaloa, and Trincomalee districts, for both the 2023 and 2024 G.C.E. Advanced Level Examinations—received an incentive grant of one hundred thousand rupees each, along with certificates. The President’s Fund allocated a total of 36 million rupees for this initiative.
This provincial programme recently commenced in the Northern Province, followed by the Southern Province as its second phase, and the Eastern Province as the third. The President’s Fund is currently making arrangements to implement the programme in other provinces in due course.
Speaking at the event, the Speaker noted that the President’s Fund has not neglected anyone in need of support, with a particular focus on the education of the nation’s children. He emphasized that the President’s Fund is not a private fund but one operated through the contributions of the people of the country. Therefore, its benefits should be solely for the advancement of the nation’s citizens.
During the Renaissance, the President’s Fund, which had been reserved for the privileged class, was transformed into an institution dedicated to the public, said Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Employment, Arun Hemachandra.
Mr. Jayantha Lal Ratnasekera, the Governor of the Eastern Province, and Mr. Roshan Gamage, Senior Additional Secretary to the President and Secretary of the President’s Fund, also addressed the gathering.
Among those present at the occasion were Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Employment, Arun Hemachandra; Member of Parliament, Kanthasamy Prabu; Vice-Chancellor of Eastern University, Professor Pararajasingham Peratheepan; Batticaloa District Secretary, J.J. Muralidaran; senior officials from the President’s Fund; public officials from the Eastern Province; heads of security forces; parents; and students.
