28 Sep 2022

Botswana is fortunate to be one of the beneficiaries of Indian Scholarship, looking at the Asian counctry’s emphasis on primary helathcare, said Minister of Youth, Gender, Sport and Culture, Mr Tumiso Rakgare.

 He was bidding farewell to 10 students going to India to join Indian Universities on scholarships at a reception he held in their honour in Gaborone, Monday.

Mr Rakgare advised students to raise Botswana flag high and strive to achieve their goals.

When presenting the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) kits to candidates, Mr Rakgare said cultural exchange between students would not only offer them benefits of exposure, but also help deal with cultural shock that normally delayed adaptation.

He trusted that upon return, the students would inculcate good work ethic learned from India on their colleagues and the country at large.

For his part, Indian High Commissioner to Botswana, Dr Rajesh Ranjan confirmed that all 10 students would be fully sponsored by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and the scholarship was inclusive of tuition, accommodation and transport costs to India and back home.

He said Indian Council for Cultural Relations provided scholarships for students all over the world and the General Scholarship Scheme was one of the most important and popular schemes of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations for foreign students.

He also said scholarships were awarded annually to international students belonging to certain Asian, African and Latin American countries for undergraduate, postgraduate and for pursuance of research at Indian universities.

Dr Rajesh said among the 10 candidates, six were going to study Bachelor of Pharmacy, two of the candidates were going to do Masters in Medical Physics while one would undergo Bachelor of technology in Civil Engineering and the other one would study Doctorate of Public Administration at different universities of India.

The High Commissioner further assured the minister that India would continue to maintain cooperation and support to Botswana whenever need arose. ENDS