939 Filipinos receive Australian scholarships

April 10, 2011, 6:37pm

MANILA, Philippines -- A total of 939 Filipinos have received Australian scholarships from 2000 to 2010, or roughly 100 awardees every year, the Australian Embassy in Manila revealed recently.

In fact, according to Australian Chargé d’Affaires Andrew Byrne, since the late 1940s, over 2,000 Filipinos were given the chance to pursue higher education in the “Land Down Under” free of charge: Government pays for the travel, study, and living expenses of the awardee.

Not content with these figures, Australia now plans to further increase the number of scholarships available to Filipinos planning to study in Australia, from around 80 per year to 120 per year. "As a sign of our commitment to improving the quality of human resources in the Philippines," Byrne said recently during the announcement of the opening of the applications for the Australia Awards scholarships for 2012 at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati City.

During the same event, a coffee- table book was also launched, published by the Australian Department of Education. It chronicles 60 years of Australian scholarship in South and South East Asia.

Next year's scholars will join other notable individuals who have attended Australian schools and training programs.

"Many of our Filipino scholars have gone onto significant roles in the academe, politics, business, and the arts, shaped by their early scholarly endeavors in Australia," Byrne pointed out.