University admissions for 2025'2026 academic year to begin in Sept.- PM Harini

The Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, has announced that the admission process for government universities for the 2025/2026 academic year will start in the first week of September 2026. During a parliamentary session on October 6, she responded to a question from a Member of Parliament, stating that all student registration lists will be sent to the universities by August 31, 2026, after the university admission cut-off marks are released. She also mentioned that universities would then set their own start dates for academic programs in early September. Additionally, Prime Minister Amarasuriya confirmed the introduction of two new degree programs for the upcoming academic year. One is a Geographical Information Systems (GIS) degree at the University of Ruhuna, which will accept 50 students. The other is in Electronic and Intelligent Systems Engineering at the University of Peradeniya, also with an intake of 50 students. Official data shows that 281,810 candidates took the 2025 G.C.E. Advanced Level examination, with 176,538 qualifying for university entrance. Out of these, 42,937 students are projected to be admitted to state universities this year. The Prime Minister noted that while the total number of undergraduate admissions will stay the same, efforts will be made to improve facilities and enhance the quality and effectiveness of higher education in Sri Lanka.