The National Cadet Corps (NCC; Sinhala: ජාතික ශිෂ්‍යභට බලකාය, romanized: jātika śiṣyabhaṭa balakāya) is a volunteer youth organisation in Sri Lanka, sponsored by the Ministry of Defence, which operates in schools. Its activities (Cadet and Cadet Band) are open for secondary school students on voluntary basis and its officers are government teachers and educational administrators, who serve as instructors.

The National Cadet Corps presently consists of 9 Provincial Headquarters, 2 Training Centres, and 30 Battalions deployed island wide. Approximately, 100,000 school cadets organized in to 4492 cadet platoons, including 279 cadet band platoons, are registered and trained by the NCC. Cadets are given basic military training in small arms and parades, as well as leadership training. The Corps is also given the grand opportunity to march alongside the forces during the Independence Day Parade of Sri Lanka.

The NCC is headed by a Director of a senior military rank, commonly a Major General, who is appointed by his excellency, the president of Sri Lanka. Although its officers and cadets have no liability for active military service many officers volunteer for secondment to the Sri Lanka Armed forces during national emergencies or are mobilized under national service. Traditionally the Cadet Corps has served as a source for officers for the regular forces of the Sri Lankan military.

Administered under the Mobilization and Supplementary Forces Act, No. 40 of 1985, the corps was renamed from time to time and in 1988, under the initiative of the government and then Minister of Education, Youth Affairs & Employment, and Deputy Minister of Manpower Mobilization, Hon Ranil Wickremesinghe, it was designated as the "National Cadet Corps" thereby discontinuing its attachment to Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force and merging both Defence & Police cadetting under one organization. It is notable that the former president, Hon Ranil Wickremesinghe had the opportunity to present President's colours and Corps colours to the NCC on 19 February 2023.

The first NCC Training Centre was established at Rantambe in 1990 during the tenure of Maj Gen EG Thevanayagam as Director and was declared open by then Secretary of Defence Gen Cyril Ranathunga VSV. Thereafter, on 4 April 2024, the second Training Centre was opened at Mullaitivu by then State Minister of Defence Hon Premitha Bandara Tennakoon, courtesy of the Ministry of Defence and Sri Lanka Army during the tenure of the then Secretary Defense, Gen (Rtd) GDHK Gunaratne WWV RWP RSP USP ndc MPhil, then Commander of the Army, Lt Gen HLVM Liyanage RWP RSP ndu, and the 14th Director of NCC, Maj Gen GS Fonseka USP psc.

Mission statement The mission statement of the National Cadet Corps is

The Vision of the National Cadet Corps is

Initiation of cadetting and its early history

The first Regiment of the Ceylon Volunteer Force was established as Ceylon Light Infantry Volunteers in April 1881. The pioneer of school cadetting, Mr. John B. Cull, then principal of Royal College, Colombo, formed a cadet platoon with the intention of promoting "discipline through drill" among students. This developed to be an auxiliary battalion to the Ceylon Light Infantry (CLI) Volunteers.

By 1902, more schools such as S. Thomas' College, Mt. Lavinia; Wesley College, Colombo; Trinity College, Kandy; and Richmond College, Galle joined and became companies of the "Cadet Battalion, Ceylon Light Infantry" (CB CLI) during the tenure of Maj Morris, who was then the Commanding Officer of CLI Volunteers and also the Acting Commandant of the Army Volunteer Force. Some cadets had voluntarily joined the British Forces and took part in the Boer War in South Africa. During the 1915 Sinhalese-Muslim riots, cadets who joined British forces were called upon to control the riots that spread across Ceylon.

Training of the cadets took place in Uragasmanhandiya until 1903, and subsequently cadets began their training alongside the British Forces at Diyatalawa. Later, they were trained separately. As Cadets joining British Forces declined, cadetting was recognized as an activity for school students up to 16 years, thereby allowing junior cadetting to be initiated. School cadetting was commanded by selected school teachers and subalterns from schools, who eventually became officers of the organization. Past cadet companies were led by officers of the CLI Volunteers.

The "De Soysa Trophy" in memory of Mr. AJR De Soysa (Former Member of the Legislative Council of Ceylon) awarded to winning Junior Cadets, was first won by St. Benedict's College, Kotahena in 1913 according to records.

Ceylonese lawyer, judge and legislator Hermann Albert Loos, awarded the "Hermann Loos Challenge Trophy" in 1917, to the best senior platoon, which was first won by Kingswood College, Kandy.

Involvement in World Wars

During World War I, out of 330 cadets who volunteered to join the British Forces and fought abroad, about 30% had either been injured or had sacrificed their lives in battle.

One such honourable mention is Lt Arthur Basil Horsfall VC, who was a cadet from S. Thomas' College, Mt. Lavina. As per records, he joined the British armed forces alongside fellow cadets from S. Thomas' College, and Trinity College during World War 1.

In 1918, Horsfall was killed in action with some other cadets in France during the war. He was posthumously promoted and awarded the Victoria Cross – the highest award for exceptional gallantry in the face of the enemy, for his role in the military action that led to his fate.

Lt Horsfall is one of the 1348 recipients of this award from 1870's up to year 2000. St. Thomas' College has recovered the letter written by his Commanding Officer to his father. This letter has been obtained from the East Lancashire Regiment Museum in the United Kingdom. A message has also been sent by His Majesty, King George VI, to his father as well.

During World War II, from 1939 to 1945, both cadets and officers of the Cadet Corps joined the British and Ceylon Defence Forces and fought in the war.

Progressive expansion

It was in 1919 that the cadet battalion was separated from the CLI, and was renamed as the Ceylon Cadet Battalion (CCB) which had registered 17 schools by then.

The Cadet Sports Meet commenced in 1923 and was the only central sports meet. This eventually evolved to be the "Public School Sports Meet."

In 1948, Col R. J. F. Mendis, the Commander of the Ceylon Cadet Battalion, was appointed as the Commandant of the Ceylon Defense Force (CDF). After gaining independence from the British rule and having deemed a dominion, the "Ceylon Army" was established in 1949. Subsequently, in 1950, the "Ceylon Cadet Battalion" (CCB) was named the "Ceylon Cadet Corps" (CCC) and was reformed as a regiment under the Ceylon Army Volunteer Force (CVF).

In the same year, the HQ of the 1st battalion of the CCC was initially established in Kalutara whereas that of the 2nd battalion was established in Kandy. In 1953, the 1st CCC battalion HQ was shifted to Galle, and the 3rd CCC battalion HQ was raised in Colombo. In 1964, the 4th CCC battalion was raised in Kurunegala and in 1968, the 5th CCC battalion was raised in Anuradhapura. Meanwhile, in 1963, four Cadet Bands were formed.

With the Ceylon Army making significant progress through the years, officers of the CCC pioneered to establish the "Pioneer Corps" of the Ceylon Army. It is notable that officers from the CCC were summoned to serve alongside regular and volunteer officers of the Ceylon Army. Such occasions include their contributions to suppress the harbour strike of 1962, and the insurgency of 1971 in the country where 100 CCC officers were called for duties with regular force officers.

Once Sri Lanka was declared as a Republic in 1972, the Cadet Corps was once again renamed. Thereafter the Ceylon Cadet Corps (CCC) was dubbed the "Sri Lanka Cadet Corps" (SLCC). On 4 July of the same year, the Police Cadet Corps was established with 5 boys' schools and 1 girls' school.

Afterwards in 1979, the 6th battalion was raised in Diyatalawa. Two years later, in 1981, the centenary celebration of the Cadet Corps was celebrated in Colombo. Nevertheless, many changes had come into effect by then – junior cadetting was discontinued and a proposal to establish a new national organization for cadetting was presented to the parliament by the Minister of Education, Youth Affairs & Employment and the Deputy Minister of Manpower Mobilization at the time, Hon Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Cadetting for girls in the SLCC began in 1985 with 10 girls' schools registered. The De Soysa Challenge Trophy, previously awarded to the best junior cadet platoon, was thenceforth awarded to the best girls' platoon.

Establishment of the National Cadet Corps

Soon after, the Manpower Mobilization and Supplementary Forces Act, No 40 of 1985 was enacted as per the proposal brought to the house. During the tenure of the first Executive President of Sri Lanka, Hon JR Jayawardene, and then Minister of Education, Youth Affairs & Employment and the Deputy Minister of Manpower Mobilization, Hon Ranil Wickremesinghe, the activities of the SLCC and Police Cadet Corps were amalgamated to form the "National Cadet Corps" (NCC) in 1988. At the time, Lt Gen JED Perera VSV was the chairman of the Reserve Affairs Council and Maj Gen EG Thevanayagam VSV was appointed as the first director of the NCC.

After 48 years of administration by the Sri Lanka Volunteer Force, the NCC was transferred directly under the Ministry of Defence. Since then, NCC officers have been mobilized for active service to combat insurgency and terrorism, which had reached a new peak in 1989. Approximately 500 officers were mobilised for combat duties.

The NCC Training Centre was established on 2 December 1990 at Rantambe under the direction of Maj Gen E. G. Thevanayagam and was officially declared open by then Secretary Defense Gen Cyril Ranatunga VSV.

The 7 NCC battalion was raised in Gampaha in 1989. The 8 NCC in Pelmadulla and 9 NCC in Kegalle were raised in 1991. The battalions 10 NCC and 11 NCC were raised in Tangalle and Polonnaruwa in 1994 while in 2000, the battalions 12 NCC and 13 NCC were raised in Kalutara and Matale respectively. The 14 NCC battalion was raised in 2002 at Kuliyapitiya.

On 8 May 2001, the NCC HQ was established at No 68, Bandaranayake Mawatha, Kalubowila, Dehiwala courtesy of the Ministry of Education. Later it was shifted to its current location at No 15, Dutugemunu Street, Pamankada, Dehiwala on 30 September 2006. This was the year the corps celebrated its 125th anniversary with over 900 cadet platoons registered under its battalions.

Given that Sri Lanka was in a prolonged armed conflict over the years, government officials such as Gotabaya Rajapaksa, then Secretary Defense, had recognized a need for specialised training instead of the tradition of training all cadets under a single program. In 2007, the NCC had commenced Navy and Air force wings, making the classification of platoons similar to the National Cadet Corps of India. Although this decision was deemed a significant milestone, it was eventually suppressed and removed for better reorganisation.

The 15 NCC battalion was raised in Monaragala in 2007 as well. This was followed by the 16 NCC battalion which was raised in Matara in 2008.

Before achieving victory in the 30-year separatist war in May 2009, a number of NCC Officers had fought alongside the armed forces to defend the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka.