Complete guide for international students to study in Sri Lanka

Why Sri Lanka?


            Sri Lanka is an island nation situated below the Indian sub continent. It is well know place for sandy beaches, blue mountains and hospitality of its people. The benefit of studying in Sri Lanka is its low cost. Normally students go after reputed universities in countries like the U.K, the U.S.A and Australia. The main reason is the high university ranking of those universities and global recognition. What if you can have the same globally recognized qualification for a lesser cost while travelling and enjoying in Sri Lanka. 
              Yes, you can. Most of the Sri Lankan colleges and institutes offer transfer programs to Australian, the U.K and the U.S.A universities. For an example if you are reading for a bachelor degree, first two years, you can complete it in Sri Lanka and for final year(s) you can transfer to a reputed university and graduate. So you are final certificate and graduation will be awarded by a globally recognized university.
                Average cost of an Australian bachelor degree is around 25,000 AUD per annum 'excluding' accommodation, medical, food and living expenses. So for 3 years, it will cost you more than 75,000 AUD. But if you study in Sri Lanka, for less than 10,000 USD you can cover all study semesters 'including' accommodation, medical, food and living expenses. And the major plus point is, with the transfer option  you'll have the opportunity to graduate from an Australian university. 
                 Most of the students who go to Australia do part time jobs like cleaning toilets, dish washing and other minor jobs just to cover up their living costs. A lot of their  ambition is to get permanent residency after graduating. Student going to Australia with transfer options will also have that same opportunity. So why would an intellectually competent young guy or girl spend their youth cleaning things when they can fully focus on their studies while travelling and enjoying beautiful Sri Lanka.  

What are the available courses to study in Sri Lanka?

                      There are wide range of courses to select and study ranging from Engineering, Biology, Finance, I.T, tourism and hospitality to arts. Except for medicine, education qualification required for all the other major know occupations are available in Sri Lanka.

                     Personally I recommend following institutes and colleges based on their reputation, recognition and facilities. You can visit their respective websites and see more information on the courses and entry requirements.

                     All the above mentioned institutes are situated in Colombo, commercial capital of the country. To find any other course that you wish to follow, Just google "course name" + Sri Lanka to see any institutes or college that offer the course. 

Post Graduate Studies

                                                   Students who wish to follow a post graduate qualification or masters, I recommend to attend 
a state university. Publicly funded state universities are located in beautifully designed, spacious garden like environment and have highly qualified lecturers. But please note that state universities do not offer transfer options and qualification is awarded by the university it self. List of state universities are as follows.



Accommodation

                 Accommodation arrangements are cheap. For 200 USD, you can rent out an annex with 2 or 3 bed room with a kitchen and bathroom. Most of the time furniture will not be provided. This arrangement will be more than sufficient for a single student. If you wish you can find another tenant and share the rent. Typically landlord will  keep a security deposit for one year or six month period based on the contract. This will be given back to you when you are leaving the place deducting any damages caused by you to the house. Visit this local classified site to see the different options available. 

Utility Bills

                Water - Chlorinated clean water is provided by National Water Supply and Drainage Board throughout the country. Water charge is based on number of units used. Tariff chart can be seen here. Approximately it will cost less than 6 USD per month as water expense for a single person. Some residence has ground or well water pumped through motor, and most of those houses still use Water board's water for drinking and cooking purposes because they are extensively cleaned compared to ground water. In such scenario water expense would be 1 USD. 

              Electricity - Unless you use an air condition, typical electricity cost for a single person would be around 15 USD. If you use an air condition, it can go up to 50 USD. An online tariff estimate can be obtained here  Most of the people who are coming from cold countries enjoy the warm climate in Sri Lanka while other may prefer an air condition. The average temperature is around 30 Celsius through out the year. 

           Gas - Sri Lanka does not have an underground gas lines. Gas cylinder are used to ignite gas cookers and stoves. They are delivered to door step when you give a call to the nearest sell center. Initially you have to pay 25 USD to buy the cylinder. Refill charge is 10 USD. You do not have to take the cylinder and get it refilled. A refilled cylinder will be given to you in return for your finished cylinder. 

Transport

               Public transport is the cheapest option available in Sri Lanka to travel. But it is not convenient and comfortable.Taxi services like Uber and Pickme are available where you can order a tuk tuk(widely used local taxi), car, van or even a truck through their mobile app. You can get an estimate about the fair prior to ordering from the app. Typically for the first Km it will be about 0.33 USD and thereafter 0.20 USD for tuk tuks. Tuk Tuk are widely available on street, most of the time you might not need the assistant of an app.  

Food

                 Food prices depend on "where you eat?" not "what you eat?" Restaurant and star class hotels are really expensive places to eat. The final bill is charge with heavy tax and service charge. If you eat from general eating house or your college canteen(some will not open until night), for all 3 meals it will cost you less than 6 USD including tea, short eats and everything. If you prepare your own food it will cost you less than 100 USD for entire month. To get an idea about the grocery prices, Please check the web site of this leading supermarket.  

Entertainment

                  "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" As per the famous saying after studies, all students should take a break and relax their mind. Every weekend there are many events happening in Colombo. Shopping festival, art exhibition or a rugby match or else if you wish to escape from the busy city, you can simply catch a train and within 4 hours be in Kandy (Beautiful hill city of Sri Lanka with soothing climate) or if you want to feel sand on your feet hit the highway and within 2 hours you can be at the hikkaduwa beach in down south. 

Internet

                 All telecommunication providers of the country provide wide range of data plans, both prepaid and postpaid. Less than 10 USD you can get an internet connectivity with 50 GB data cap. 

List of Internet providers are as follows.


Cable TV

                 Currently there are two main cable TV providers as follows. Package charges vary around $15 to $20.


Health Care

                  Sri Lanka is a country with free health care system. Any one visiting public hospital can get treatments free of charge. But there are long queues and facilities are less. In any main town or city you can find dispensaries run by private practicing government doctors. You can get both consulting and medicine for about $5. If you have a serious medical condition it is a good idea to visit a private hospital. There are medical insurance providers that cover serious illnesses and surgical operations that usually cost a lot. But not all illnesses and medical conditions. 

Part Time Work


                 Most of employers give preference to the locals who can speak native language when recruiting. But if you come with industry specific experience or from another multinational company that operates in Sri Lanka, you might have chance. If you are native English Speaker you can easily find students and conduct English classes. Personally I believe you might be able to earn a better income by doing a business in Sri Lanka. Exporting Sri Lankan commodity to your home country or Importing goods from your home country and selling it here. Exporting items from Sri Lanka are tax free.
                      I think it is a better opportunity for a student to exercise his/her entrepreneur skills while studying. You'll be able to learn managing trade between two countries, learn about international trade, tax process, shipping process, port clearance process and many more. A golden opportunity for a potential student to sharpen his/her management skills.

Visa Process

               First you need to apply to university or college with all the documents as per their entry requirement for the course you wish to follow. If they are satisfied they will send you an offer letter. With this offer letter you have submit other relevant documents to your nearest Sri Lankan high commission or embassy. As visa process can be different from country to country it is a good idea to contact your local Sri Lankan diplomatic office for further details.

If you need any assistance or guidance settling in Sri Lanka or finding a course, Please do not hesitate to contact us.

Sunny Island Education Services
No:43, Wanatha Road,
Nugegoda,
Sri Lanka
E-mail: goodyasitha@gmail.com
Mobile: +94 776 487 959


   

Comments

  1. Anjelina WilliamsJanuary 12, 2022 at 2:59 AM

    Highly recommend http://repository.kln.ac.lk/ to read and download more academic ,practice and policy articles free of charge on this topic.

    ReplyDelete

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