North Malaita rural students to benefit from TARD Partial Bursary Scheme Initiative

A partial “school fee” bursary scheme for community high school and vocational students in the North Malaita Constituency will be introduced from semester 2 2008 until end of 2009 by the To’abaita Authority for Research and Development (TARD) student volunteer group.

The initiative by TARD, which would be the first for North Malaita, is aimed at providing partial tuition fee assistance to selected rural students who are currently studying at the respective community high and vocational schools within the constituency, based on both financial need and academic merit.

The scheme is a “one semester” partial tuition fee assistance to eligible students studying at the Walo, Bita’ama, Anuke, and Arnon Atomea Community High Schools as well as the Ngalikekero Vocational Training School in North Malaita. Only rural based students within the Falau River in Malaita's provincial ward 6 and Kwai River in ward 9 studying at the above schools are eligible for the initiative.

In semester 2 2008, there will be at least 25 partial tuition fee bursaries each worth $200 for interested students. Each of the five beneficiary schools will be allocated five bursaries. It is expected that the same number of bursaries will be available for semester 1 2009 and semester 2 2009.

TARD is adamant that despite the relative insignificance of the value of each bursary, it will contribute to alleviating the extreme pressure and burden that rural parents and guardians go through each year to send their children to school.

It is estimated that by the end of the scheme in 2009, at least 60 North Malaita students will benefit from the initiative and each of the five recipient schools will get a TARD injection of $1,000 per semester.

Logistics of how interested students can apply for the bursaries and how the initiative would be managed is being finalised with TARD representatives in North Malaita.

TARD is grateful to a generous supporter that provided financial support towards this initiative. This is a clear reflection of the trust and confidence that donors and individuals have on the vision of TARD.