Protest Against Education Privatizaion In Colombo, Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka's doctors for free education are staging a protest in front of the General Hospital against education privatization and the abolition of the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on July 24, 2025. The General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) is at the center of a heated debate in Sri Lanka regarding the privatization and militarization of higher education. Several government decisions in 2025, especially the restriction of civilian and local student admissions to its medical faculty, are intensifying public discussion about educational equity, government policy, and the future of free education in Sri Lanka. In May 2025, KDU is abruptly stopping the admission of fee-paying civilian students to its undergraduate medical program. This move is justified by government spokespeople as a return to KDU’s original mandate to train military cadets but is met with widespread criticism from student groups, medical associations, and political leaders.