Korea to cut scholarships for foreigners

By Kang Shin-who The Korean government plans to cut its full scholarship program for foreign students, who receive money for university tuition, housing and monthly allowances, by 40 percent. An official at the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said Monday that some 400 foreign nationals, 300 fewer than this year’s 700, will be eligible for the scholarship program in 2011. “Due to a shortage in the annual budget, we have to cut down the number of government-invited students. Instead, we will select highly qualified students to improve the quality of the program,” the official told The Korea Times. The number of foreign students on the program, jumped to 745 in 2008, from 133 in 2007; it fell to 504 in 2009, before rising again to 700 this year. A total of 2,000 foreigners are studying here under the state program as of this year. The ministry is considering removing the “grace period” for program participants in order to save money. If they fail to pass their courses, master’s and doctorate degree seekers are able to extend their stay here by a semester and year, respectively. With the aim of making state scholarships a Korean national branding project similar to the Fulbright Program, the ministry this year integrated all programs into the “Global Korea Scholarship” project, which has a budget of 51.5 billion won ($46.6 million). The National Institute for International Education (NIIED), an agency under the ministry, oversees the scholarship program that is offered in some 120 countries around the world. Korean embassies overseas or Korean universities recommend undergraduate or graduate hopefuls for the scholarship. The scholarship students have to meet the minimum qualification; a grade point average (GPA) over 80 percent and grade three — out of six — in the Test of Proficiency in Korean. Source : http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/12/117_78719.html