Record number of Australian scholarships for Bangladesh students
Australian High Commissioner, Justin Lee, with scholarship recipients headed for Australia
The Australian Government has announced 75 new scholarships for Bangladesh students to pursue postgraduate studies in Australia in 2011. This is the largest number of scholarships Australia has ever awarded to Bangladesh in a single year. The students were farewelled at a ceremony in Dhaka on 2 December.
The scholarships were awarded to Bangladeshis from diverse backgrounds, including civil servants, development workers, academics, and researchers. Twenty-four scholarship recipients were from the Chittagong Hill Tracts area, reflecting Australia’s commitment to improving education qualification standards in that region.
At the ceremony, the Australian High Commissioner Dr Justin Lee congratulated the scholarship recipients on their achievement.
“This is the largest number of scholarships that Australia has ever awarded to Bangladesh in a single year, and illustrates our ongoing commitment to advance human resources in Bangladesh for social and economic development”, he said.
The High Commissioner noted the scholarships would strengthen Bangladesh’s capacity in key sectors such as education, health, water management, climate change, public administration, and governance.
Bangladesh is one of the largest recipients of Australian scholarships globally. More than 600 scholarships have been awarded in Bangladesh over the past ten years.
Mr. Mohammad Asif–uz-Zaman, Joint Secretary of the Bangladesh Government’s Economic Relations Division also attended, congratulating the scholarship recipients and expressing his thanks to Australia for its valuable support and cooperation.
The scholarships are offered annually and managed by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID).
Australian High Commission, Dhaka, 2 December 2010
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