| Government awaiting scholarship results from Education | | Print | |
| Thursday, 08 September 2011 17:45 | |||
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The Turks and Caicos Islands government has $5 million in scholarship commitments for 149 students studying at various institutions abroad, but there is precious little more money for new scholarships in the current government budget. The governor’s office says it is frustrated with the lack of progress on the part of the Ministry of Education in cleaning up the scholarship program. The ministry has been requested by government to clarify who is performing and to announce new rules for scholarships going forward. The scholarship program was established to improve the talent base of the TCI, but concerns have been raised as to the cost benefit of the program. Four years ago, $18 million was spent in one year on the scholarship program. As part of this commitment, many students were required to return to the TCI and serve two years in the public service, a sector which the interim government says is “over-bloated” and is now undergoing serious cuts. When elected government was suspended in August 2009, the interim government headed by the governor ordered a review of the program that revealed massive abuses of the system. Examples given included one student who had been studying for 16 years and another student who received in excess of $300,000 in one year. Abuses included several students who continued to receive scholarship payments for six years or more when the periods stipulated in their agreements ranged from 3-5 years, and some students continued to receive scholarship benefits for some years after they had completed their studies. Almost two thirds of students had been studying, or completed their studies, beyond the scholarship period specified in their agreements. As part of the stipulations for receiving the government scholarship, students are required to obtain a certain grade point average, for most a 2.0 and some a 3.0, in order to continue to receive the financial support. As part of their investigations, the government revealed the vast majority had not provided their grade point averages as required, begging the question as to why they continued and some cases still continue to receive the support. Grades were also often provided by the students themselves, rather than by their education institutions. Only $500,000 has been budgeted for the upcoming fiscal year for new scholarships, but to date the ministry has not announced any new scholarships being awarded.
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