ADDIS ABABA- Ethiopia has offered scholarship opportunities to international students of higher education from different countries around the world in the 2018/19 academic year, according to the International Relations and Scholarship Directorate at the Ministry of Education.
According to the Directorate Head, Mitiku Berecha, about 610 scholarship opportunities were given to undergraduate and post-graduate students mainly from Somali Land, Punt Land, and Somali Republic. He also said that a good number of students from South Sudan are taking technical and professional trainings in Ethiopia. Addis Ababa University is also offering scholarships to foreign students in line with bilateral agreements the University has made with other African universities, Mitiku said.
According to Mitiku, there are students from Kenya, Uganda, and Djibouti who are learning in Ethiopian universities by sponsoring themselves. It is important for our country to establish bilateral relation with other countries. Education is the best tool of strengthening bilateral relationship. That is why, Ethiopia has been offering a number of scholarships to foreign nationals, disclosed Mitiku.
“These scholarship opportunities will establish mutual relationship between the countries. It will deepen the existing bond between peoples of the countries. The opportunities will facilitate and strengthen exchange of culture, knowledge, and experience among the countries. The students are ambassadors of their countries,” said Mitiku. Likewise, Head of the International Relations and Scholarship Directorate says Ethiopian students are also earning scholarship opportunities from different countries. “Our university instructors are being given priority.
Over 200 higher education teachers are sent for scholarship every year.” According to him, China receives a huge number of our students while Hungary, India, South Korea, Japan and Italy are some of the other countries which offer scholarship opportunities to Ethiopian students every year.
Mitiku further noted that United Arab Emirate (UAE) has recently assured to offer scholarships to Ethiopian science stream students. Thus, Ministry of Science and Higher Education is on the process of nominating students for this opportunity on the basis of their first year academic score to sit for entrance exam. Then, the top fifty top scoring students will be sent to UAE by the coming September, said the head.
Herald January 19/2019
BY GETAHUN LEGESSE
