SIXTY per cent of students receiving national bursaries to pursue tertiary level education are female.

The Ministry of Tertiary Education and Skills Training (MTEST), through its National Bursary Award Programme (2024) awarded bursaries to 345 students and the names were revealed on Thursday.

MTEST via media release stated, “Valued at $51,979,789, these bursaries will benefit succeeding applicants in the pursuit of undergraduate studies, with sixty per cent of the recipients being females and forty per cent males.”

The National Bursary Programme seeks to offer opportunities for government funded tertiary education to academically gifted students experiencing financial challenges as these bursaries will facilitate the coverage of tuition fees and other allowances for fiscal 2024/2025.

Minister of Tertiary Education and Skills Training Prakash Persad said, “The future of our country is in the hands of our younger generations but it is our duty to provide them with equitable opportunities to prosper as we propel them to learn and foster their contributions to the sustainable national development of their homeland. Access to higher education must be supported for us to truly develop in areas aligned to our needs as a nation.”

The ministry extended congratulations to all awardees as they continue their academic studies.

The ministry’s release comes one week after the announcement by Persad at a post Cabinet media briefing.

He said then, all those who met the criteria were given bursaries and reminded parents and students of the obligatory requirement to remain and work in Trinidad and Tobago for a period.

To find out more about upcoming application periods for the National Bursary Award Programme, persons can visit moe.gov.tt for more information.