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by Rodney Martinesz

The first ever Mahapola University will be set up shortly enabling underprivileged students to obtain the best in education without having to travel abroad.

This will be done with the conversion of the Sri Lanka Institute of Technology (SLIT), which has ties with the Monash University in Australia, to the "Mahapola University", Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Ravi Karunanayake said at the re-launch of the Mahapola Scholarship Award at St. Thomas' College, Kotte yesterday.

He said the new move would provide an opportunity to poor students in the field of higher education which was hitherto restricted to the affluent sections who could afford to go abroad.

It was his own personal experience that prompted the late Lalith Athulathmudali to conceptualize a scheme at the Mahapola Scholarship Fund in order to ensure that deserving students would not be left behind in the education field due to poverty.

"Mahapola which began with a bursary of Rs. 350 per student in 1981 has now increased to Rs. 1,650. The number of beneficiaries which accounted for only about 1,000 at inception had swelled to 100,000," the Minister noted.

Under the revised programme Bhikkus engaged in higher education in pirivenas too would receive Mahapola grants while a weekly two hour English training programme sponsored by the Mahapola Trust would be aired by national television. Mahapola will also extend its benefits to rural youth to come up in the field of sports.

A Mahapola Headquarters would be set up with construction earmarked to commence within three months in a three acre site in Welikada.

The Mahapola programme would be made more dynamic to include activities towards the educational and social uplift of the poor youth as intended by the founder of Mahapola.

A total of 7,000 students islandwide became recipients of Mahapola scholarships of which 1200 were present at the chief venue for the 22nd Mahapola scholarship award yesterday.

Power and Energy Minister Karu Jayasuriya opened the 205th Mahapola Trade Fair. Minister Jayasuriya speaking as Chief Guest at the Mahapola Scholarship Awards presentation expressed the hope that the students who benefitted from the noble concept of the late Lalith Athulathmudali would live as exemplary, disciplined citizens as envisioned by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

He hailed the effort put into the rejuvenation of the Mahapola programme by his colleague Ravi Karunanayake who was a protege of the late Athulathmudali.

Minister Jayasuriya was deputising for Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as Chief Guest at the function attended by a large number of students. 

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