As many as twenty-seven Gambians were recently awarded scholarships by Taiwan’s ICDF and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of the Republic of China on Taiwan.
Also last week, another 25 students were announced to be going to Taiwan next for the Architectural Engineering elite program.
As a matter of duty, the students are expected to make the best use of the opportunity in order for these scholarship packages to continue to be available to others, come next academic year and beyond.
Considering the cost of tuition in any university, and the financial situation of most potential students, there is no doubt that without this kind of intervention many students would not have had the opportunity to study at the university.
We, therefore, welcome the awarding of the scholarships to these students, and commend the Taiwanese government for the kind gesture!
Education is key to success in life, and any individual or institution that helps Gambians to acquire higher education could definitely be described as our true friend.
It is also our view that students who received this year’s Taiwan ICDF and MOFA scholarships should consider themselves lucky, since they were chosen from among many who equally needed the sponsorship.
This is why we want to state that opportunities of this kind should be fully utilized, so that the donors would be encouraged to continue giving the scholarships.
Over the years, the Taiwan International Cooperation for Development Fund (ICDF) has been offering many scholarships for Gambian students to pursue courses in various fields and universities across Taiwan.
Human resource development is essential for the socio-economic development of any country, and educating our young ones is vital for the future of this nation.
Finally, we add our voice to that of those who have thanked the Taiwanese government though its Embassy in Banjul on behalf of the students and their families for coming to their aid.
For the students, we encourage you to study very hard while in Taiwan, and to follow the good footsteps of other Gambians who are currently there or have graduated from Taiwan with flying colours.
You are advise to serve as good ambassadors of the country in the Asian nation.
