Prime
26 win Commonwealth scholarships
Ms Kiggundu (L) chats with beneficiaries Flavia Anyiko, Josephine Ninsiima and Mariam Grace Ahimbisibwe after a briefing by British Council’s Peter Brown. PHOTO BY ISMAIL KEZAALA
Twenty six Ugandans have been selected to pursue PhDs and masters programmes in various disciplines in United Kingdom under the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan (CSFP).
The group, which will be departing later this year for universities in London, Liverpool and Southampton among other cities, was advised to embrace the learning opportunity and also use it to learn the diversity that the UK culture has to offer.
“The expectation is that they will have quality international education so that they can come back and work in sectors like health and finance,” Mr Peter Brown, the country director, British Council, Uganda said during a meeting with the beneficiaries at the British High Commission in Kampala.
The scholarships, according to the regional manager CSFP, Ms Marianne Kiggundu benefit students from various Commonwealth and are awarded on merit and the applicants go through an impartial filter.
“The Ministry of Education and Sports advertises and interested candidates apply. The ministry sends the list of selected candidates to the UK where further scrutiny selection of the applicants is done,” she said.
About 1,160 Ugandans have benefited from the scholarship in various academic disciplines since the programme 54 years ago.
STUDENTS’ optimism
Flavia Anyiko (M.A transport planning and engineering) “I am prepared to face the life there. I already know from the briefing that there are affordable facilities like accommodation. So I have to live within my means and I hope to be a more efficient employee when I return.”
Josephine Ninsiima (M.A public health)
“I am a health worker and I hope to get more skills in communicable diseases. I also hope to bridge the gap between policy makers and the communities after my course.”
Patricia Ndugga (PHD in Demography and social statistics)
“I am a lecture at Makerere University and I want to discover other measures that we could use to control population other than family planning.”
