42nd Annual Report - Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in ...

SHARED SCHOLARSHIP SCHEME: PARTNERSHIPS WITH UK UNIVERSITIES
In a move to increase synergy between DFID projects in the field of higher education,
it has recently been agreed that the Commission assume responsibility for
administration of the DFID Shared Scholarship Scheme. This arrangement did not
take effect during the period of this report, but this section looks at the purposes of the
scheme, its relationship with conventional Commonwealth Scholarships, and the views
of the award holders themselves.
A Partnership with Universities :
Roderick Floud, (right) Chairman
of Universities UK, and Michael
Gibbons, Secretary General of the
Association of Commonwealth
Universities at the Reception for
new Scholars
What is the Shared Scholarship Scheme?
Shared Scholarships were introduced in 1986. Confined to developing Commonwealth
countries, they aim to assist high quality students who wish to pursue studies relevant
to development issues, but who could not otherwise afford to do so. Awards are
mainly for postgraduate study, the only exception being where a particular
undergraduate course is not available in the student’s home country.
The awards differ from Commonwealth Scholarships in their selection and funding.
Essentially, shared scholarships are offered by the participating UK university – which
is responsible for advertising awards and selecting recipients – subject to centrally
imposed academic and development criteria. As the title suggests, funding is also
shared between the host institution and DFID. The former provides the stipend, the
latter pays the tuition fee, air fare and various allowances. In this way, it provides a
cost effective mechanism to encourage universities to prioritise development related
work. In asking the Commission to take responsibility for the scheme, the Secretary of
State was clear that this separate identity should be maintained.
Shared Scholarship Scheme: New awards
taken up by year
1995 170
1996 138
1997 159
1998 188
1999 172
2000 178
2001 179
How is the Scheme Administered?
The scheme is administered by the Association of Commonwealth Universities,
which also provides the secretariat for the Commission. Each year, all UK
degree awarding institutions are invited to bid for awards, and these are usually
over subscribed. In 2001, 59 universities combined for a total of just under 300
bids. Once notification was received of the available budget, it was possible to
allocate 200 awards, of which 179 were subsequently taken up. Once allocated
an award, it is the responsibility of the host institution to identify appropriate
candidate(s). These are approved by the secretariat, however, in terms of their
ability to meet the minimum academic standard, and the relevance of their work
to development objectives. In some cases, the advice of DFID officials is
sought on the latter issue.
Other criteria include a requirement, introduced in 1998, that recipients should not
previously have studied in a developed country for more than one year, and the
requirement that candidates confirm that they would not be able to study in the UK
without the scholarship. As with CSC awards, scholars are required to sign an
undertaking that they will return to work in their home country on completion. As a
contrast to CSC, in which nominations are made from government agencies, Shared
Scholarships are not offered to candidates who work for government or parastatal
bodies. In this way, the scheme aims to be accessible to students who might not
qualify for other international schemes.
Shared Scholarship Scheme: Top ten
disciplines for awards held 2000-2001
Environmental Studies 18
Law 18
Business and Management Studies 14
Agriculture 12
Computer Science 10
Studies Allied to Medicine 10
Social Studies 10
Community based Clinical Subjects 9
Civil Engineering 7
Politics and International Studies 7
Who Benefits?
The number of new awards taken up has remained relatively constant in recent
years, although the geographical balance of recipients shows an even greater
emphasis on the poorest areas of the Commonwealth than the existing CSFP.
This results partly from the fact that such awards are not available to the ‘old
Commonwealth’ countries, and partly from a request made by government in
1995 that priority be given to countries listed by the OECD as being in need of
official development assistance. Thus, in 2001, 96% of recipients were from
Africa or Southern Asia. It is Africa, however, that is the biggest recipient,
receiving just over 60% of awards, as opposed to 46% three years earlier. Last
year 91% of awards went to candidates from countries in the ‘low HDI’
category of the United Nations.
CSC Annual Report page 16