43rd Annual Report - Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in ...

2003 SELECTIONSScholars and Fellows on award during the2001/2002 Academic YearSchemeNoCommonwealth General Scholarships 398Commonwealth Split-siteScholarships 18Commonwealth Academic StaffScholarships 105Commonwealth Fellowships 78TOTAL 5992002 Selections: General Scholars by regionRegion Target% Actual%Sub-Saharan Africa 50 57South Asia 30 26Others 20 17The number of new awards taken up in 2002 rose from 291 to 365 – an increase of25%. This increase was concentrated on those countries supported by the Departmentfor International Development, which accounted for 293 awards, compared with 215in the previous year. The number of new awards supported by the Foreign andCommonwealth Office declined slightly, from 78 to 72. These figures exclude awardsmade during 2002-03 for the new programmes of distance learning scholarships andprofessional fellowships, since these were taken up after the period covered by thisreport.Regional QuotasThe Commission does not allocate specific numbers of awards to individual countries,since it seeks to encourage open competition between candidates. In recent years,however, it has adopted loose targets for the division of General Scholarships betweenregions. These were revised in our 2000 review to place more emphasis on sub-Saharan Africa, which had under-performed during the 1990’s.This aim was more than fulfilled during the year, with 57% of the awards concernedgoing to Africa. Southern Asia took 26%, compared with a 30% target, and othercountries 17%. Whilst the Commission welcomes this development in the short term,since it reflects a significant increase in the quality of candidates from Africa, it willretain the previous targets for 2003.A more complete picture of success rates can be seen by comparing nominations,selections and awards taken up. Africa was responsible for 40% of the 888 eligiblenominations, and received 38% of the awards offered. The 47% success rate ofAfrican candidates was almost identical to that for those from South Asia and thecombined ‘other’ regions. In interpreting these figures, it should be remembered thatselection by the Commission represents only part of the process, and that candidateshave to undergo highly competitive procedures in order to secure their nomination.General Scholarships are the only Commission programme through which awards areavailable to all Commonwealth countries. In the case of Academic Staff Scholarships,awards are concentrated on universities in the poorest third of the United NationsHuman Development Index, and sub-Saharan Africa. Academic Fellowships andSplit-site Doctorates are also concentrated on particular developing countries.2002 Selections: Scholars by level of studyAwards Taught% Research%FCO FundedGeneral Scholarships 66 34DFID FundedGeneral Scholarships 62 * 38CASS 43 57All 61 39*Includes one undergraduate awardType of CourseWithin the General Scholarships category, selections continued the move of recentyears away from doctorates to taught courses, often of a more directly vocationalnature. This policy was adopted following our 2000 review, and endorsed in asubsequent survey of national nominating agencies. The 62% of DFID funded generalscholarships awarded for taught courses was the highest for several years, increasingfrom 49% in 2002. The figure reflects both overall policy, and our desire not to incurabnormally high continuer costs by using this year’s budget increase on three yearawards. The proportion of FCO funded awards for taught courses also continued torise, the figure of 66% comparing with 59% the previous year.The trend towards taught courses was most marked in the case of Academic StaffScholarships. These have traditionally concentrated on doctorates, in response to theexpressed needs of recipient universities. Last year, 85% of awards were in thiscategory; in 2002 the figure declined to 57%. Support for Split-site Doctorates, however,increased significantly, with the highest ever number of awards – 30 – comparing with18 in 2001.Selection By GenderThe Commission does not routinely discriminate in favour of women in its selection process,but in recent years has increasingly highlighted to nominating agencies the need to ensure afair gender balance in their selections. Our awards also make provision for spouses anddependent children. This year’s figures suggest that this policy is having positive effects.In 2001, the proportion of new female General Scholars reached 50% for the first time.CSC Annual Report page 18