IN a bid to increase the capacity building of Fiji's health sector, the Indian High Commission has introduced five new medical scholarships.
While marking the 156th birthday of Indian nationalist Keshav Bal Gangadhar Tilak in Lautoka yesterday, Indian High Commission Cultural Centre director Dr Kamal Kishor Mishra said the Ayush Scholarship Scheme for Fiji would further establish Fiji's health sector in the Pacific.
"These five new scholarships have not been introduced anywhere else in Fiji and also in the Pacific," said Dr Mishra.
"We wanted to mark this auspicious occasion by announcing these five scholarships for Fiji students. The scholarships are for degree courses in various medical fields under which students will study for five and half years including a one-year mandatory clinical training."
Dr Mishra said science students graduating from high school would be eligible for the scholarship.
He said the Indian government wanted to maintain the special bond with Fiji and further assist its children in obtaining quality education.
"Students who graduate from the scholarship will have a permanent bond in Fiji and in India meaning that they can either work here or in India once they graduate," he said.
The deadline for scholarship applications is August 10 and interviews for short-listed candidates are scheduled for August 16.