page_title: University of Sri Jayewardenepura
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: University of Sri Jayewardenepura / History
caption_attribution_description: English: This is Students Hero Statue Sri Jayewardenepura University Sri Lanka
context_page_description: The University of Sri Jayewardenepura is a university in Sri Lanka. It is in Gangodawila, Nugegoda, near Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte, the capital city. It was formed in 1958 out of the Vidyodaya Pirivena, a Buddhist educational centre which was founded in 1873 by Ven. Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thera.
context_section_description: The University of Sri Jayewardenepura has a long history dating back to 1873 when the Vidyodaya Pirivena was established by the erudite monk Venerable Ven. Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thero who established the pirivena as a center for Oriental learning.
  In 1956, following a change of government with Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike as the prime minister and following the policy of promoting national languages and culture, it was decided to establish two new universities by conferring university status on the Vidyodaya and Vidyalankara Pirivenas. Accordingly, the Vidyodaya University and Vidyalankara University Act No. 45 of 1958 established the universities at the Vidyodyaya Pirivena at Maligakanda and the Vidyalankara Pirivena at Kelaniya. In 1958, it was reconstituted as the Vidyodaya University of Ceylon.
  In 1961, a new location was selected at Gangodawila, 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) southeast from the center of Colombo and in walking distance of a main trunk road known as the High Level Road (A4). This road connects Colombo to Ratnapura and beyond. Part of these lands belonged to the nearby Sunethradevi Pirivena, associated with King Parakramabahu VI (1412–1467). The shift of the university to the new site was effected on 22 November 1961, under the direction of Ven. Sri Soratha Thero. The vice-chancellor invited the Department of the Government Archives to establish its archives within the campus, close to the University Library, to encourage research.
  In 1966 the University scene changed for the better under the Higher Education Act no 20. Universities were open for female admission. This was not all that changed; the Vice Chancellor position of the universities’ were no longer restricted to be assumed by the Maha Sanga.
  When Ven. Dr. Walpola Rahula Thero was the vice-chancellor, the university grew significantly in stature. When Ven. Dr. Rahula Thero left the university in 1969, linguist Prof. D. E. Hettiarachchi took over. A noted employee of at this time was Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was chairman of the United Corporations and Mercantile Union local on the campus. He was later elected as the President of Sri Lanka and acts as the Prime Minister to the current government.
  The revitalization of the university continued until the insurgency in 1971. The political atmosphere at the time heavily affected the education of University students. Following the insurgency, the university premises was taken over by the army and converted into a detention camp for suspected insurgents during the brief period of 1971–1972.
  During this period the university managed to conduct lectures at different locations, thereby the students were not completely deprived of the education they deserve.
  In 1972 all universities were transformed to a campus status under the University of Ceylon Act 1 of 1972. According to the Act all universities were made campuses of the single university: ‘University of Sri Lanka’. In 1978 the University status was restored with the next cycle of change in management of higher education.
  Its full-time student population is over 8,500, enrolled in the faculties of Applied Sciences, Engineering, Graduate Studies, Humanities and Social Sciences, Management Studies and Commerce, Medical Sciences, and Technology.
caption: Students Hero Statue Sri Jayewardenepura University Sri Lanka
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