THE public has criticised the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development (MEHRD) for the late release of the list of Solomon Islands Government scholarship recipients for this year.
MEHRD Permanent Secretary, Dr Franco Rodie, has confirmed to local media that the total number of Solomon Islands Government (SIG) funded scholarships that will be made available in 2023 is 1000.
He revealed this at the Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet’s weekly media conference last Friday.
This revelation didn’t go down well with the general public who criticised MEHRD for lateness in announcing the SIG scholarship recipients for 2023.
Many tertiary institutions have already started the first semester for 2023 when MEHRD made this important announcement.
A member of the public who commented on the delay said such an announcement should be done at the beginning of this academic year.
Another commentator said it’s nearly mid-year when the ministry struggles to make the important announcement.
Some Solomon Islanders who applied for SIG Scholarship have vented their frustration when the MEHRD directed all applicants to check for their names on the scholarship portal if their applications were successful or not.
This has been a main topic on social media and people have called for the scholarship list to be printed in local newspapers or published on the MEHRD website as MEHRD always does for secondary school results.
By LACHLAN EDDIE
Solomon Star, Honiara
