University of Kelaniya
The University of Kelaniya has its origin in the historic Vidyalankara Pirivena, founded in 1875 as a centre of learning for Buddhist monks. It was one of the two great national centres of traditional higher learning, heralding the first phase of the national movement and national resurgence.
With the establishment of modern Universities in Sri Lanka in the 1940s and 1950s, the Vidyalankara Pirivena became the Vidyalankara University in 1959, later the Vidyalankara Campus of the University of Ceylon in 1972 and, ultimately, the University of Kelaniya in 1978.
Today, the University of Kelaniya is one of the major national Universities. It is located just outside the municipal limits of Colombo, in the ancient and historic city of Kelaniya, on the north bank of the Kelani River. It has two major campuses, seven locations, six faculties and four institutions.
The University of Kelaniya has pioneered a number of new developments in Higher Education. It was one of the first Universities to begin teaching science in sinhala, and also the first to restructure the traditional Arts Faculty into three separate Faculties of Humanities, Social Sciences and Commerce and Management. It also has several unique Departments not generally found in the Sri Lankan University system and some Kelaniya innovations have been adopted subsequently by other Universities. These include the Departments of Industrial Management and Microbiology in the Faculty of Science; Departments of Linguistics, Fine Arts, Modern Languages and Hindi in the Faculty of Humanities; and Mass Communication and Library and Information Sciences in the Faculty of Social Sciences.
In Keeping with its historical root, the University is one of the national centers of excellence in Pali and Buddhist Studies and related fields. It has long established and well-developed Departments of Pali and Buddhist Studies (incorporating chairs in Buddhist Civilization and Buddhist Philosophy), Sanskrit, Linguistics, Philosophy, Sinhala, and Hindi, as well as the Postgraduate Institute of Pali & Buddhist Studies. Kelaniya also maintains close links with the Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka (whose Vice-Chancellors have often been drawn from the University of Kelaniya Faculty). Thus, the University of Kelaniya forms the centre of an academic complex, specializing in modern developments in traditional disciplines. It also retains a close link with its mother institution, the Vidyalankara Pirivena, whose Head is also the Chancellor of the University.
At the same time, the University of Kelaniya has a modern and multi-cultural structure and perspective, with the Faculties of Science, Medicine, Social Sciences and Commerce & Management and a strong base in modern languages, including the teaching of Chinese, English, French, German, Hindi, Japanese, Russian, Tamil, and Modern Linguistics. Presently engaged in extensive restructuring as it enters the 21st century, the University of Kelaniya looks forward to a new phase in its 125-year history of development.
Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies
The Faculty of Commerce & Management Studies (FCMS) is the youngest faculty of the University of Kelaniya and is one of the finest and fast growing faculties in the country in terms of quality of graduate output, qualified faculty, and diversified undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. Its genesis goes back to 1976 with the establishment of Department of Commerce under the Faculty of Social Scienes. With the commitment and efforts of academic staff, students and other stakeholders, it enabled to achieve the Faculty status in 1995. The Faculty is committed to achieving excellence in providing learners with opportunities to develop knowledge, skills and attitudes to serve the nation with respect of dignity of life. In line with this mission, the faculty has been rendering its unstinting service to prepare scholars and professionals with capacity, skills and attitude that drive economy, support civil society, lead government, and make important decisions which affect entre society. Accordingly, FCMS has so far produced more than 8000 graduates and most of them are in the forefront of managerial ranks in public and private sector organizations both locally and internationally. Further, some of our graduates are prominent entrepreneurs in the country.
Department of Accountancy
The Department of Accountancy (DoA) is one of the five departments in the Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya. At present, it conducts the Bachelor of Business Management (Special) Accountancy degree programme. The vision of the department is to make the Accountancy programme, the first choice among the students and stakeholders. The mission of the department is to advance Accountancy education through Bachelor of Business Management (Special) Accountancy degree which provides outstanding Accounting and management education for students, create and disseminate knowledge, promote the understanding and ethical practice of Accountancy profession and serve the community.
DoA is committed to pursue excellence in research, teaching and consultancy services. The greatest strength of the department is its faculty which consists of academic and professional qualified in diverse management disciplines such as Accounting, Finance and Management fields. They are able to blend the theoretical knowledge with the practical exposure which will enhance the efficiency of teaching methodologies. DoA always designs its degree programmes to meet the changing demands of the public and private sector.
DoA was able to win a competitive grant, worth Rs.100 million from the World Bank under the project on Improving Relevance and Quality of Undergraduate Education (IRQUE) in the year 2005.
The said project has been successfully completed by disbursing total monitory allocations. It is worthy to note that doctoral degree grant recipients returned to the DoA after completing their Ph.Ds related to small business and entrepreneurship. Their research findings are highly relevant to solve current economic problems in Sri Lanka, specially nurturing the small business sector and entrepreneurship development.