Opportunities

May 18, 2010

<b>Hope for bright, needy students</b><br><b>Madhvani</b><br>Underprivileged Ugandan students pursuing science based degrees stand a chance to win scholarships worth $250,000 (sh500m) from the Madhvani Foundation for the 2010/11 university academic year.

BY ARTHUR BAGUMA

Hope for bright, needy students
Madhvani
Underprivileged Ugandan students pursuing science based degrees stand a chance to win scholarships worth $250,000 (sh500m) from the Madhvani Foundation for the 2010/11 university academic year.

Henry Kyemba, the chairman of the scholarships committee, said the funds have been set aside to facilitate brilliant yet underprivileged students at university. The scholarships would only be available to potential applicants for undergraduate courses after their first year of study.

Last year, the Madhvani Foundation awarded 175 student scholarships totalling sh516m. The Madhvani Foundation is a charitable Trust that promotes science and technical education in Uganda. Disciplines considered include agriculture, biology, business administration, chemistry, commerce, engineering, food science and technology, information technology, law, hotel management, pharmacy, nursing, architecture, veterinary medicine, actuarial science, environmental studies and human medicine.

Eligible undergraduate applicants must complete the first year at any Ugandan university with a minimum Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of not less than 2.2 with no exam re-takes done in year one.

Eligible post-graduate applicants must hold a minimum of a bachelor’s degree and be either admitted for, or be registered in a post-graduate programme in the discipline of science or technical studies.

The scholarship is limited to tuition only and is payable as a grant directly to the university or institution on behalf of awardees.

MVULE TRUST
Mvule Trust is a small NGO providing scholarships to disadvantaged young people across Uganda, especially girls, to study at secondary and tertiary institutions. Following a successful fundraiser with The Guardian newspaper in the UK last year, Mvule Trust is able to provide a number of scholarships to young people in Teso.
The Guardian readers raised over sh1b for education in Teso. Working with district education officers, headteachers, churches and other NGOs, Mvule Trust interviewed over 500 young people as potential scholarship recipients.So far, 36 students have been taken up for O’level, 12 for A’level, 12 for university (Kumi, Busitema), 13 for catering or technical school, 42 for nursing or lab technology, 41 for forestry or agriculture, 19 for teaching (nursery, primary or secondary) and 17 for business. All the students are studying within Teso or eastern institutions, except for 20% who have had to move for specialist courses, such as forestry in Masindi or to the Crested Crane Hotel and Tourism Training Institute in Jinja. About 65% of them are girls. Primary seven leavers are picked only if they live far from a Universal Secondary Education school or are exceptional. Mvule Trust is supporting a girl from Katakwi with an outstanding PLE math score and the top boy from Katine S/C, Soroti. The top girl from Katine was traced but she was already married. Technical courses are opening career doors for the scholarship recipients. All the nine sponsored to study lab technology in Lira are employed. Three Mvule girls from Nyabyeya Forestry College are now sub-county forestry officers. Mvule is also supporting 640 young people from West Nile, Bundibugyo, Kasese, Kisoro, Kitgum and Gulu, including 38 in forestry/agriculture and 114 on health courses (e.g. midwifery or environmental health).

TULLOW OIL

Tullow oil has awarded master’s scholarships to six Ugandans to further their education in oil and gas sector. The scholarships are aimed at building capacity of Ugandans to participate in the early phases of oil production.
The scholarships that will be tutored in the UK are part of the company’s response to Uganda’s need for professionals to drive the oil and gas sector. They target applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds who would otherwise not be able to meet the cost of studying abroad.
Only Uganda citizens below 27 years of age who have not previously studied abroad and hold a first or upper second class undergraduate degree in geosciences from a recognised university are free to take up the opportunity.

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