The Cabinet of Ministers has approved an additional foreign exchange adjustment allowance of up to Rs. 2.5 million a year for students selected under the government’s overseas scholarship programme, following the recent depreciation of the Sri Lankan rupee against major global currencies.
The allowance is intended to ensure that students pursuing undergraduate degrees at internationally ranked foreign universities can meet the higher costs arising from exchange rate fluctuations.
Officials said the sharp depreciation of the rupee had increased the cost of foreign currency payments, leaving the funds originally allocated insufficient to cover certain expenses faced by scholarship recipients.
The scholarship scheme was introduced under the 2025 Budget to support the country’s highest-performing candidates at the 2024 GCE Advanced Level Examination by enabling them to read for their first degrees abroad.
Under the existing terms, each selected student is eligible for financial assistance of up to Rs. 20 million a year, with total funding capped at Rs. 80 million across the four-year degree period.
Thirty-two students were selected for the programme on the basis of their Advanced Level results. Nine have already left Sri Lanka to begin their studies, while arrangements are under way for the remaining recipients to travel abroad.
The proposal for the exchange rate adjustment allowance was submitted by Prime Minister Dr Harini Amarasuriya in her capacity as Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, and was approved by Cabinet.
