BY MBONO MDLULI<\/p>\n
LOBAMBA<\/b> \u2013 Government, through the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, has spent E298 316 533.02 on scholarships supporting Emaswati studying at local and international tertiary institutions.<\/p>\n
This was revealed by Labour and Social Security Minister Phila Buthelezi in a preamble presented before the ministry\u2019s House of Assembly Portfolio Committee. The ministry appeared before the committee to present its 2025\/26 annual performance and to discuss its proposed 2026\/27 budget allocation.<\/p>\n
Buthelezi said the ministry continued to provide student assistance loans covering allowances and study loans covering tuition for students pursuing higher education both locally and abroad.<\/p>\n
During the period under review, a total of E298 316 533.02 was spent on scholarships. The minister explained that tuition fees for local tertiary institutions are expected to be settled in the last quarter of the financial year, when second semester registrations and academic year consolidations are completed.<\/p>\n
Government also continued efforts to recover scholarship funds from previous beneficiaries. A total of E57 083 843.12 was collected during the reporting period from three government collection points.<\/p>\n
Of this amount, E51 944 001.80 was collected through the consortium system, while E4 965 017.50 was recovered through the civil service salary system. A further E174 827.13 was collected through the government scholarship recovery account held with First National Bank.<\/p>\n
During the reporting period, the ministry also conducted scholarship interviews for applicants seeking funding for the 2025\/26 academic year at local tertiary institutions and universities within the Southern African region.<\/p>\n
The interviews were conducted by the Pre-Service Tertiary Education and Training Scholarship Board and included applicants intending to study at institutions such as University of Eswatini, Southern Africa Nazarene University, Limkokwing University of Creative Technology, Eswatini College of Technology and Institute of Development Management.<\/p>\n
Other participating institutions included Eswatini Medical Christian University, Good Shepherd College of Health Sciences, Botho University, Emergency Medical Rescue College, Gwamile Vocational and Commercial Training Institute, William Pitcher College and Ngwane Teacher Training College, as well as several universities within the Southern African Development Community region.<\/p>\n
According to the minister, a total of 3 985 study loans had been awarded during the reporting period out of 5 989 applicants. These awards included 3 601 new scholarships and 384 special issue awards granted to students reinstating their scholarships due to circumstances such as illness, failed modules, programme changes or deferred studies.<\/p>\n
The admission cut-off points for the financial year were set at 27 for diploma programmes and 30 for degree programmes locally, while students applying to study outside the country required an Admission Point Score of 33.<\/p>\n
The means testing tool was used to assess applicants and determine eligibility for scholarship awards.<\/p>\n
Government emphasised that the scholarship programme remains a key investment in human capital development aimed at equipping young Emaswati with the skills needed to contribute to national growth and development.<\/p>\n
#EducationSupport #Scholarships #YouthDevelopment #EswatiniEducation<\/p>\n
Post Views: 215<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BY MBONO MDLULI LOBAMBA \u2013 Government, through the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, has spent E298 316 533.02 on scholarships supporting Emaswati studying at local and international tertiary institutions. This was revealed by Labour and Social Security Minister Phila Buthelezi in a preamble presented before the ministry\u2019s House of Assembly Portfolio Committee. The ministry […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":85940,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-85942","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-policy"],"yoast_head":"\n