The President’s Fund and the Ministry of Education jointly implemented a scholarship program for students who excelled in the GCE O/L examination, under the guidance of President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
The Zonal Education Offices considers skill, aesthetics, sports, and extra-curricular activities, as well as the economic and social status of the student’s family when awarding points for this program.
Under the first phase, 3,000 students across the country qualified, and 110 scholarship recipients with the highest merits in 11 education zones symbolically received their scholarships of Rs. 5,000 per month for two years at the Presidential Secretariat.
The scholarship program will award a total of 30 scholarships per zone, providing support to 3,000 students in 100 educational zones throughout the country. The scholarship program’s total estimated cost for the two-year duration is Rs. 360 million. The Ministry of Education informed schools through a circular, and a newspaper advertisement was also published to encourage applications for the scholarship program.
Along with this scholarship award, school bags, books, umbrellas, watches and a gift card worth Rs. 5,000 were also presented to the scholarship winners with the support of the Bank of Ceylon, People’s Bank, National Savings Bank, Regional Development Bank and the National Paper Corporation.
Arrangements have also been made to make scholarship awards and financial donations to the remaining scholarship recipients within the next two weeks.
Minister of Education Susil Premajayantha and Presidential Senior Adviser on National Security, Chief of Presidential Staff Mr. Sagala Ratnayake, Secretary to the President Mr. Saman Ekanayake, Secretary of the Ministry of Education Mr. M.N. Ranasinghe, Secretary of the President’s Fund and Senior Additional Secretary to the President Mr. W.A. Sarath Kumara and several others participated in this event.
Showers will occur at times in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and in Nuwara-Eliya, Kandy, Galle and Matara districts today (June 26), the Department of Meteorology said.
Fairly heavy rains of about 50 mm are likely at some places.
A few showers may occur in the Anuradhapura and Matale districts.
Showers or thundershowers may occur at a few places in the Uva and Eastern provinces during the afternoon or night.
Meanwhile, fairly strong winds of about 30-40 kmph can be expected at times over Western slopes of the central hills and in Northern, North-central and North-western provinces and in Trincomalee and Hambantota districts.
The general public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.
The National Transport Commission (NTC) has approved a 2.5% reduction in bus fares effective from July 01 in line with the annual bus fare revision.
During a discussion between Transport Ministry officials and representatives of private bus associations, the government’s proposal to reduce bus fares by 2% was met by objections raised by bus operators.
(Previous News on 25th June 2025 at 4:51pm)
Bus associations oppose proposal of 2% fare reduction
The government’s proposal to reduce bus fares by a 2% effective from July 01 has led to the strong disapproval of bus associations, reports say.
It was also proposed not to revise the fares of the first two stages.
The announcement was made during a meeting between officials of the Transport Ministry and representatives of private bus associations to discuss the annual bus fare revision, scheduled for July 01.
The Department of Examinations has confirmed that the 2025 G.C.E. Advanced Level (A/L) examination will be held from Nov. 10 – Dec. 05, 2025,
Accordingly, applications for the 2025 G.C.E. A/L exam will be accepted online from June 26 to July 21, 2025.
It is further stated that students of government schools and government-approved private schools must submit their applications through their respective school principals, while private candidates are required to submit their applications themselves.
A statement by the Department of Examinations noted that private applicants must use their National Identity Card (NIC) number when applying for the examination.
Applicants are advised to visit the official website of the Department of Examinations of Sri Lanka, www.doenets.lk or www.onlineexams.gov.lk/eic, to carefully read the relevant instructions and submit their applications accordingly. After submitting the application, candidates are urged to keep a printed copy with them in case of an emergency.
The username and password required by school applicants to submit their applications have already been provided to the respective school principals.
Applications will not be accepted after 12.00 midnight on July 21, 2025. It is also emphasized that the closing date will not be extended under any circumstances, the statement added.
For further inquiries, applicants are advised to contact the Department of Examinations via the following telephone numbers or email : Tel: 011-2784208, 011-2784537, 011-2785922 / Hotline: 1911 / Email: [email protected]