Scholarships for foreign students

by Uditha KUMARASINGHE

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has decided to offer 100 scholarships to foreign students in Sri Lankan state universities next year under the program initiated by the Government to promote Sri Lanka as a knowledge hub.

Dr. Sunil Jayantha Navaratne said the Government will select foreign students from the SAARC and the European countries. scholarships will also be given to students from African and South American countries as well.

Dr. Nawaratne said these selected foreign students will be called upon to function as educational ambassadors to promote Sri Lanka internationally. The Government would provide a monthly allowance to these students to continue their studies in Sri Lanka. They will be given the opportunity to do their degree and the Phd in state universities.

The Higher Education Ministry has a target of attracting 10,000 foreign students to state universities by 2015. If we succeed in getting this number, the state universities could be made more independent without being a burden to the Treasury.