Sri Lanka aims to set up private universities amid forex crisis

COLOMBO, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Sri Lankan government said it aims to set up private universities in the country in order to allow students to study in Sri Lanka amid a severe foreign exchange crisis, local media reported Wednesday.

Minister of Transport, Highways and Mass Media Bandula Gunawardena was quoted as saying that over 300,000 students had left the county to continue their higher studies at foreign institutions with an estimated cost of 2 billion U.S. dollars per year.

The minister said as Sri Lankan students studying overseas were struggling to find their tuition fees amid the ongoing forex crisis in the country, the government sought multi-party consensus in setting up private universities.

Sri Lanka is presently facing one of its worst economic crises as the country faces a shortage in foreign currency leading to a shortage in essential supplies such as fuel, medicines and even food items.