Colombo, Jul 28 (IANS): Fifteen Sri Lankan students have been awarded Chinese government scholarships, an official said on Thursday.

The students, selected from at least 1,000 applicants, were nominated to receive post-graduate or under-graduate scholarships in the fields of science, arts, management, medicine and engineering, an official from the Sri Lankan Higher Education & Highways Ministry said at a ceremony held at the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka.

According to the official, these students will spend over five years in China on average in Peking University, Zhejiang University and others, Xinhua news agency reported.

"I would like to mention here that the selection process was done in a fair and transparent way and the selected candidates are the most suitable and qualified people among the applicants," the official said.

Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Yi Xianliang also attended the ceremony and jointly awarded scholarships to the students. China will extend full support to Sri Lanka in all fields including education, Yi said.