Today the Minister of Education, the Hon. Diallo Rabain made a statement in the House of assembly outlining Ministry scholarship offerings to the University of West Indies.
Mr Speaker,
It gives me great pleasure today to rise and give notice of the renewal of the relationship between the Bermudian people and the University of West Indies. Starting immediately, the Ministry of Education will provide scholarship opportunities for Bermudian students to attend the University of West Indies.
Mr Speaker,
The Ministry of Education is serious about seeing the relationship between Bermuda and the University of West Indies grow. As a result, the Ministry of Education is dedicating $35,000 from our current scholarship budget to assist students in attending one of the three University of West Indies campuses. This funding will cover 80% of the educational expenses of students with the student paying the remaining 20%.
Applications are being accepted from now up until July 26th for the 2019 Fall Term with additional information on the application process to be found on the MOED website.
Mr Speaker,
The University of West Indies or UWI has three main campuses across the Caribbean with locations in Cave Hill, Barbados, Mona Campus in Jamaica, St. Augustine in Trinidad and Tobago and the Open Campus an online Campus which services the remaining English speaking islands. They offer courses at the undergraduate and graduate level in a wide variety of fields with medicine being a popular course for students to take in the past. However, medicine is not the only area of student for students with fields such as Science and Technology, Engineering, the Social Sciences and Humanities and Education being areas of focus.
UWI has had a long relationship with Bermuda, as Bermuda has been an Associate Country member of UWI since 2010. Although we have had students attend UWI over this period the number of students has not been consistent, and this is something the College, the Ministry of Education and the University of West Indies have sought to change.
Mr Speaker
Sir Hilary Beckles, Vice-Chancellor of the University of West Indies recently visited Bermuda, and we discussed how we could encourage our Bermudians Students to take advantage of the preferred pricing we currently enjoy as an Associated Country. As a result of these and on-going discussions, the Ministry of Education is happy to announce that a scholarship provision will be made to sponsor at least 3 students to attend the UWI this Fall.
Mr Speaker,
I recognise that to some; it may be considered late in the year to be applying to a university; in fact, UWI’s registration date closes June 30th. I am pleased to let this Honorable House and the public know that the University of West Indies has extended its application deadline for Bermudian students to attend class this academic year to August 9th because they too want to see our Bermudian students thrive and expand their knowledge. This extension, Mr Speaker, is an example of the great relationship between the Bermuda Government and the University of the West Indies. A relationship that we will continue to nurture.
Mr Speaker,
The Ministry of Education remains dedicated to creating new opportunities for our students to pursue their educational goals. This means thinking outside the box and revisiting pre-existing relationships to make them more applicable to our needs today.
I want to take this opportunity to thank the Bermuda College, Ministry staff and Sir Hilary Beckles, who has worked diligently to make this opportunity a reality for our students. These efforts will have a huge impact on at least three students’ future now and more in the years to come.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.