University of Peradeniya - Needy students funds

Introduction

The Needy Students’ Funds (NSF) is a special scholarship programme to support students with special economic needs and from vulnerable backgrounds. Students who obtain the highest standardized scores at the GCE Advanced Level Examination in social sciences and humanities primarily choose the Faculty of Arts, University of Peradeniya, for undergraduate studies. As the most prestigious and the oldest social science and humanities Faculty among all the Sri Lankan Universities, the Faculty of Arts of the University of Peradeniya is a center of academic excellence producing scholars and professionals who contribute to scholastic advancement and socioeconomic development in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is one of the few countries in the world where students obtain free education from grade one to the end of undergraduate education. However, although the Sri Lankan state universities do not charge tuition fees at the undergraduate level, being a university student still requires financial resources for living costs. There are a substantial number of undergraduates whose parents lack sufficient financial resources to support their children’s studies at the Faculty of Arts and that some students, as a consequence, are compelled to earn a living while being a university student, under difficult circumstances. Some students from poor economic backgrounds work at night and experience difficulties in effectively participating in the lectures during the day. Although some part-time employment can prepare the students for employment after graduation, full-time employment due to economic hardships compromises students’ academic achievements and, in the long-term, has serious negative impact on the future career prospects of students from low-income backgrounds. The NSF is established on the principle that poverty of the parents should not be a factor determining whether students must work to earn a living and support their studies at the university.

Resources and administration

Approved by the Council of the University of Peradeniya, the NSF shall be maintained using contributions from academic and non-academic staff of the University of Peradeniya, members of alumni, private, corporate and non-governmental donors and individual donors. The Faculty of Arts allocates 10% of its earned funds also for the NFS. The Committee for the NSF chaired by the Dean, Faculty of Arts, makes decisions regarding scholarships. The Senior Assistant Bursar, Faculty of Arts, maintains the financial accounts of the NSF while the all the official communications regarding the scholarship would be the responsibility of Senior Assistant Registrar of the Faculty of Arts.

Benefit

Every year applications are called from suitably qualified candidates for the NSF. The candidates are required to submit their personal and family information including certified income in a specified application form. Information on the applicants’ income must be certified by the respective Gramaniladhari and counter-signed by the Divisional Secretary. Applications received on or before the specified deadline will be considered by the management committee. All the applicants to the NSF must have a GPA of 3.00 or above to become eligible and should not have obtained a C- for any course. The recipients are required to maintain strict disciplines as per the University regulations and any violation of disciplinary laws will result in the cancellation of scholarship. All information relating to the selection of beneficiaries and final decisions are submitted for public review and the decisions of the management committee are deemed final and binding.

Donations

The NSF kindly requests prospective donors to channel their donations in one of the following ways.

1. Employees of the University of Peradeniya may express their consent to deduct a fixed sum (decided by the self) from their salary every month. The University staff may route their contributions through the Bursar of the university.
2. Through bank-to-bank transfers: Donors may give a standing order to their respective banks to contribute a fixed sum every month or may offer a onetime payment. Please remit your contributions to the following account.

Account Name: ARTS FACULTY RESEARCH AND FUNDS

Account Number: 0001274686

BIC /Swift /Bank Code: BCEYLKLX

Bank: Bank of Ceylon

Branch: Peradeniya

Please mention the Code NSF in the deposit slip.

3. Through the University Payment Gateway. Click on the following link to contribute through a credit or debit card.

Auditing and reporting

The ledger of the NSF will be operated under the administrative and financial regulations of the university while the account will be audited by the University internal auditors. A brief summary of the audit report will be mailed to the donors every year. The full audit report of the NSF shall be made available to the donors upon request.

Needy Students' Fund