British Council awards Rs. 500,000 each to IELTS University Scholarship winners

Two winners were awarded Rs. 500,000 each towards their higher education at the British Council IELTS University Scholarship award ceremony. The event took place at the British Council library in Colombo on Monday 25 August.
Keith Davis speaking at the award ceremony commented on the role of IELTS in creating international opportunities for Sri Lankan students. “The British Council has been in Sri Lanka for over sixty years and works towards building trust between the UK and Sri Lanka through our work in English, Arts, Education and Society.”
The scholarship program commenced in January 2014, and was open to candidates who took the IELTS test between 1 January and 15 April 2014 at the British Council. The two winners were Druvinka Karunadasa who will be entering KDU University College in Malaysia this month and Remesha Abeyrathna who has already gone to University of South Wales, Australia.
Speaking at the awards ceremony Druvinka said, “I feel very privileged and touched to receive your support in my post-secondary endeavours. It is such an amazing emotion for me personally to know that there are always these networks of support out there assisting students in their educational pursuits. Therefore, I am particularly appreciative of the British Council for selecting me as a recipient of your scholarship and incredibly grateful to you for letting students like us know that if they want to pursue a higher education, rarely should financial matters hold them back.”
Ramesha stated that, “It was challenging to say the least, I am thankful to everyone who helped me through the IELTS scholarship process and to make my dream a reality.”
Also present at the occasion were the Deputy Director of the British Council David Maynard, members of the British Council Exams team and special invitees.
Head of Exams Operations and Compliance Devaprakash Peiris addressing the gathering spoke about the value IELTS adds to student endeavours world over. “All IELTS takers have a dream,” he said, “the dream of being transformed into a citizen of the world. For the past twenty five years, IELTS has opened doors for people to walk into a brighter future and this year we celebrate this great milestone. Last year 2.2 million candidates in over 130 countries took this test to pursue their dreams. IELTS is also recognised by well over 9,000 organisations around the world,” he said.
2014 marks the 25th birth anniversary of IELTS globally and for Sri Lanka it also coincides with the first ever British Council IELTS University Scholarship program.
British Council Country Examinations Manager Harriet Gardner in her ‘vote of thanks’ congratulated the winners and expressed her gratitude to those who applied for the IELTS university scholarship scheme.
The IELTS test is owned by the British Council, IDP; IELTS Australia and Cambridge English Language Assessment. The test is administered by the British Council in Colombo, Kandy, Jaffna, Matara and Batticaloa. For further details on the IELTS test please visit www.britishcouncil.lk.