The Government will award 50 scholarships to students at various levels of the education system this year to celebrate Jamaica’s 50th anniversary of Independence.
The Jamaica 50 Scholarship Programme, which was announced by Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller in her contribution to the 2012/13 budget debate in Gordon House on Tuesday (June 5), is estimated to cost $205 million.
Mrs. Simpson Miller said the awards will be based on academic merit and financial need.
Of the total awards, 20 will be made to Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) students; 20 to undergraduate students entering university this year, pursuing science, technology and entrepreneurship; and 10 to post-graduate students doing research in neutraceuticals to create new industries, sport management and cultural industries.
The Prime Minister stated that the scholarship programme, which is being funded through the Petro-Caribe Fund “is a sound investment in Jamaica’s future.”