Money Transfer from Sri Lanka to New Zealand (Educational Purpose)

Hello,

I'm currently in Sri Lanka. I've applied for a student visa and want to transfer my college tuition fees to the college's bank account in "Bank of New Zealand" and my living expenses to the "Australian New Zealand bank". I've asked around in the local banks and found out that they follow the exchange rate fixed by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. Further each bank have varying foreign exchange rates (by one or two rupees) and service charges and to sum it all up it is very expensive. Last week my total fees was coming around 30,50,000 rs and now it has risen up to 32,00,000 because of the unreliable Sri Lankan foreign exchange system.
Back in India my friend transferred his funds through a company called "Centrum" (Private bank) and their exchange rate was based on xe.com and they charged only 30 cents(paise) per dollar and it was done without any complications.
Kindly advise me if there is a way to transfer my funds to New Zealand account without spending a fortune.
Any comment is welcome.