Sri Lanka to expand education ties with Russia and Belarus
View(s):Sri Lanka is currently working on closer co-operation with Russia in terms of education and in this regard a Memorandum of Understanding is to be signed, Education Minister Susil Premajayantha said.
Minister Premajayantha, while providing an update in Parliament about his recent visit to Russia and discussions held with Russian dignitaries, said discussions were also held on increasing scholarships.
Minister Premajayantha met Russian Science and Higher Education Minister Valery Falkov on October 12 in Russia.
They discussed improving the co-operation between universities in both countries, while Sri Lankan Ambassador Dr. Janitha Liyanage also participated in the discussion.
Dr. Premajayantha expressed gratitude for the scholarships provided by Russia for Sri Lankan youth and Mr. Falkov had agreed to take steps to increase the number of scholarships provided to Sri Lanka.
Moreover, on October 17, the Minister met Belarusian Education Minister Andrei Ivanets, and they too reached an agreement to sign a Memorandum of Understanding to increase co-operation between the Education Ministries of both countries.
A discussion concerning the draft of the MoU and the further welfare of Sri Lankan students, especially medical students, currently studying in Belarus was also held.
Mr. Ivanets emphasised his full support for Dr. Premajayantha’s endeavours to modernise the Sri Lankan education system, while discussing increasing co-operation between universities of the two countries.
The Minister told Parliament that the number of scholarships after talks with the Russian Federation and Belarus, where the draft was to be signed by the Belarusian Prime Minister, would increase.
He said he had seen the notification calling for applications for scholarships at the last moment and it was publicised.
The Minister also said applications coming to the Ministry would either be sent directly to foreign universities or the Ministry would apply providing preference to the higher Z-scores first.
“We are creating a system where we get to know the number of scholarships available first, then call for applications and send applications based on Z-scores,” he added.
-SJK
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