The General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) has reopened applications for its Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degree programme for local fee-paying students (day scholars), following intense public backlash and legal action over an earlier decision to restrict enrolment to cadets and foreign students.
Applications for the MBBS Intake 43 (2025/2026) are now being accepted online via the KDU website and will close on July 18, 2025. The five-year degree programme carries a course fee of LKR 17.5 million.
The reversal follows a decision announced in Parliament on May 22 by Deputy Defence Minister Major General Aruna Jayasekara that local civilian students would no longer be admitted, despite applications opening a day earlier. The move led to widespread criticism and a fundamental rights petition, which is scheduled to be taken up in court on Tuesday.
In parallel developments, a Cabinet-appointed committee has submitted a 10-point recommendation report regarding student admissions to the KDU medical faculty. The committee, co-chaired by Defence Ministry Secretary Air Vice Marshal (Retd.) Sampath Thuyyakontha, includes Education Ministry Secretary Nalaka Kaluwewa and Health Ministry Secretary Dr. Anil Jasinghe.
Key recommendations include:
- Limiting MBBS admissions to one batch per year, capped at 150 students.
- A maximum of 100 local civilian students to be admitted on a fee-levying basis annually.
- Civilian applicants must have an *(Z-score) of 1.4000 or higher
