Restructuring loss-making public institutions will enable the Government to allocate more resources to education and healthcare in the future, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said. He added that the country’s true wealth lies in its youth, not in struggling State enterprises. President Wickremesinghe made these remarks during a ceremony to hand over the new Faculty of Allied Health Sciences at the Ruhuna University, located in Walahanduwa, Galle, on Friday (19). At the event, the President unveiled a plaque and formally transferred the college building to the students.

He also took time for a tour and engaged in a friendly discussion with university staff. Vice Chancellor of the Ruhuna University, Prof Sujeewa Amarasena, presented a commemorative plaque to President Wickremesinghe. The President planted a sapling on the Faculty of Science grounds to mark the occasion and took a group photo with the university staff. Minister of Industries Dr Ramesh Pathirana, Chairman of the University Grants Commission Prof Sampath Amaratunge, Chancellor of the Ruhunu University Ven Akuratiye Nanda Nayaka Thera, the Maha Sangha and other religious clergies, Southern Province Governor Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, Members of Parliament Wajira Abeywardana, Sampath Athukorala and a group of former vice-chancellors, deans, academic staff, students and others were present on the occasion.