Sri Lanka's Speaker of Parliament says the 50-year-old President's Fund has been decentralized and digitalized to serve the public more effectively, with a new scholarship scheme now supporting children of lottery sales assistants nationwide.
The President's Fund, which has operated for five decades, has undergone significant structural changes to improve public accessibility, according to Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne. Speaking at a program in Anuradhapura, the Speaker stated that the institution "truly became a fund belonging to the people" only recently following recent government reforms aimed at decentralization and digitalization.
Previously concentrated in Colombo, the Fund has been redistributed to local governance levels, allowing citizens to access services through Grama Niladhari and Divisional Secretariat offices. These structural changes have made the institution more user-friendly for communities outside the capital, the Speaker explained.
A newly launched educational scholarship programme demonstrates the Fund's expanded reach. Sixty-five children of lottery sales assistants in the North Central Province received scholarships under this initiative, which extends from Grade One through GCE Advanced Level and operates across all provinces. The scheme recognizes the financial contributions made by lottery agents to the Fund. According to the Speaker, approximately 22,000 lottery sales agents contributed Rs. 5.112 billion to the President's Fund during the first half of 2026.
Housing Minister Dr. Susil Ranasinghe emphasized education's role in combating rural poverty, noting that government education reforms seek to equip students with skills relevant to future employment. Supporting rural children through educational initiatives aligns with the administration's broader objective of reducing poverty in agricultural communities.
