At least 240 South Sudanese are set to benefit from scholarships offered by the government of India under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Programme this year, the Indian Ambassador to South Sudan revealed.
“We offer 240 seats for the ITEC programme every year to South Sudan, and we are trying to increase that number, the way we see the demand, “Ambassador Vishnu Sharma said. He was addressing the ITEC Day Celebrations at the Embassy on Monday.
The ITEC Programme was instituted by a decision of the Indian Cabinet on September 15, 1964, as a bilateral programme run by the Government of India. It provides training and technical cooperation to 160 partner countries across the globe and offers more than 10,000 scholarship slots annually to various countries across the planet.
The programme focuses on cooperation among developing countries in the economic field and other areas, and all expenses related to training under the ITEC programme, i.e. tuition fees, living allowances, study tours, and emergency medical assistance, is met by the Indian Government.
The envoy said over 1,000 South Sudanese have been trained in various fields through the fully funded capacity-building programmes.
“The reason we have focused on capacity building is that it is part of nation-building,” he said.
Sharma said India is focusing on tourism, trade and technology.
Due to the economic challenges, there has been a high demand for South Sudanese to study in India but due to the challenges, they are unable to take advantage of the scholarship opportunities, said Dr. Justo Wani, an official at the Ministry of Higher Education.
“The education standard of India is among one of the best in India and I urge the Indian government to offer the scholarship to students who desire to pursue undergraduate and postgraduate education courses,” he revealed.