Scotland awards K50m scholarships
The Scottish Government-funded Scotland-Malawi Partnership has awarded 35 scholarships for “young, gifted and underprivileged” Malawian students to study at a master’s degree level within Malawi.
In a statement released earlier today, the Scotland-Malawi Partnership says about £100 000 (over K50 million) has been invested by the Scottish Government in this one-off programme which is being managed, without charge, by the partnership.
The statement quotes Viola Namacha-Chatsika, one of the 18 females benefitting from the scholarships, as having said: “I am extremely grateful for having been awarded a David Livingstone Bicentenary Scholarship. This degree will empower me with knowledge and skills, enabling me to improve my skills in healthcare and management.
“I will be able to help in the management of public health problems affecting my country and ensure that together with other stakeholders we build a better Malawi with healthy people who can contribute to the development of our country.”
Eleven Malawian institutions will benefit from the programme. They are Chancellor College, the Polytechnic, the College of Medicine and Kamuzu College of Nursing under the University of Malawi; the Catholic University of Malawi; the African Bible College; the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources; the Malawi Institute of Management; Mzuzu University; the University of Livingstonia and Share World Open University.
Reads the statement announcing the scholarships: “In line with the published selection criteria, preference was given to gifted under-privileged students whose studies complemented the Government of Malawi’s Growth and Development Strategy II, and who would benefit their wider community.”
The programme was first announced by Mike Russell, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, during his meeting with Malawi President Joyce Banda in Malawi in October 2012.
The statement quotes Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s Minister for External Affairs and International Development, as saying: “When we hear about the adversity that so many young people in Malawi face and the obstacles they encounter every day just trying to get an education it is clear that we must do all that we can to help.”
In his remarks, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology director of Higher Education associate professor Dixie Maluwa Banda thanked the Scottish Government through the Scotland-Malawi Partnership for the timely gesture of true friendship by offering the David Livingstone Scholarship awards to Malawi’s higher education sector.
