The CHASE Fund has approved $60 million in scholarship support to tertiary-level students for the 2019/20 academic year. The commitments are a continuation of awards made for the 2018-2019 academic year.
The scholarships provide students pursuing degrees in education, the medical sciences and the visual and performing arts, with tuition. The recipients are enrolled at a variety of institutions including the University of the West Indies, Northern Caribbean University, the Edna Manley College, teachers’ colleges across the island and overseas colleges and universities for programmes not offered in Jamaica.
10 of the 153 scholarships are for post-graduate study.
CEO of the CHASE Fund, W. Billy Heaven, noted that approximately 10% of CHASE’s annual project funding goes towards scholarships.
“We are deliberately supporting students pursuing degrees in early childhood curriculum and instruction, special education in the early childhood education sector, radiation oncology and biomedical engineering in the health sector because we have invested heavily in the education and health sectors in terms of facilities and equipment and trained personnel are needed.” Heaven clarified that the objective is to increase capacity in specific areas. “The scholarships are intended to help defray the cost of studies in priority areas consistent with national policy,” he said.
“All scholarship recipients are bonded, must maintain a minimum ‘B’ average, and those abroad are expected to return to the island to impart their new learning,” Heaven disclosed.
To date, the Fund has spent approximately $1.42 billion on scholarships and training.
