The Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) has once again directed South African students to a scholarship opportunity overseas, this time in Brunei.
“The Brunei Darussalam Government is offering scholarships for South Africans to study full-time, on-campus diplomas, undergraduate degrees, and master’s programmes starting in July / August 2022 at the following participating public Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Brunei Darussalam,” the DHET website reads.
Those participating institutions are:
- Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD);
- Kolej Universiti Perguruan Ugama Seri Begawan (KUPU SB);
- Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali (UNISSA);
- Universiti Teknologi Brunei (UTB);
- Politeknik Brunei (PB)
As with many of these overseas scholarships it’s important that applicants read the details to make sure it is suitable for them, starting with the eligibility which includes an age range (18-35), a police clearance certificate and more.
As for what the scholarship covers it’s rather extensive. Not only is tuition covered but so is many other fees associated with education such as exam, registration and orientation fees. Economy class return tickets to Brunei together with accommodation is accounted for too.
Also included is several stipends for baggage (~R5 600 at completion of studies), books (~R6 700 per year), meals (~R1 700 per month) and a general monthly stipend (~R5 600 per month).
While those are very generous it should be remembered that the Rand values are estimates based on an exchange rate which may change. On top of that the price of living can be very different overseas so, again, applicants will need to do some research into the country before making any serious plans.
Applications for this scholarship close on 10th February with full details available here.
Something that we didn’t see included in those details is mention of spoken language. Many times these overseas scholarships will have some criteria or suggestion for applicants’ language proficiency for the country they are planning to study in. As for Brunei several languages are spoken there.
