Accessing Eswatini Government Scholarships
STUDY PROGRAMMES PRIORITY LIST (click to see approved tertiary institutions)
BACKGROUND
The primary mandate of the Pre- Service Tertiary Education and Training Department is to provide access to relevant quality Tertiary education to all qualifying EmaSwati; taking into account all issues of efficacy, equity and special needs. Realizing that education is the foundation and the main pillar of economic and social development and being cognisant of its core mandate. The Department continues to commit itself to providing access to, affordable and relevant education of high quality and believes that by having Tertiary study loan programme it will be responding to its core business; and contributing to the achievement of the country’s long-term vision of ensuring that Eswatini, by 2022, will have attained a level of development akin to that of developed countries.
In support of Government’s agenda of ensuring economic development, Government continues to identify priority programmes for funding.
APPLICATION PROCEDURE
The application procedure is standard for all applications, in terms of requirements, whether a student intends to study locally, regionally or abroad.
1.1 All applicants must log into the Scholarship Application System at www.slas.gov.sz and follow instructions. No application forms shall be accepted.
ELIGIBILITY:
All applicants should meet the following:
(a) Be a Swazi Citizen
(b) Must have Completed high school
(c) Have never received the study/scholarship loan before
(d) Must have been admitted to full time programme in an accredited tertiary institution.
- 2. AWARD FOR GOVERNMENT SCHOLARSHIP
2.1 Award of scholarship is strictly based on merit.
2.2 The Scholarships are awarded for Diploma and Degree programmes only, with exceptions for Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) and Honours Degree in selected professional programs.
2.3 The Scholarship covers one or both of the following:
- 1. Study Loan (Tuition, books registration, uniforms (where required) and internship / project allowances)
- 2. Student Assistance Finance (Accommodation, meals, personal allowance, and other personal effects allowances or any other platform)
Student loan is discounted by 50%.
Students assistance loan is payable in full.
Personal allowance
2.4 Applicants shall be called to appear before the Scholarship Selection Board for interviews. Worth noting is that acceptance into a Tertiary institution and appearing before the Board for interviews is no guarantee for scholarship.
2.5 Applicants shall be notified through the media of dates and venue for interviews.
2.6 Successful candidates shall have to sign Agreement Forms together with their parent/ guardian between the applicant and the Government of Eswatini.
2.7 Award letters shall be issued once agreement forms are signed which are to be submitted to the respective Institution at Registration
GENERAL INFORMATION FOR THE AWARD OF SCHOLARSHIPS IN ESWATINI
Tertiary education is a key requirement for securing employment or self-employment. The Government of Eswatini, in pursuit of equity in the use of resources in the education sector and the development of the Eswatini economy, continues to provide scholarship loans to students wishing to undertake tertiary education studies in recognized tertiary institutions in Eswatini and as well other African Universities and overseas countries ( mainly through Joint Bilateral Agreements with various countries).
The demand for Government scholarship loans has increased rapidly over the years. far exceeding the funds available for scholarships. This has put a strain on Government resources consequently resulting in the need for Government to more carefully target priority areas for the award of scholarships to students. Recently, the Minister for Labour and Social Security articulated the Government position with respect to the scholarship awards for 2011/12.
1. Application Procedure
The procedure for applying for scholarship loan is generally the same, whether the student wishes to study in the country, in South Africa or in other recognized Universities. It is slightly different when the student intends to study abroad, under the Joint Bilateral Agreement programme. However, in all cases the process involves three major steps, which are as follows:-
(i) Completion of Scholarship Application Form
(ii) Applying and getting a written acceptance letter from a recognized tertiary institution
(iii) Presenting the application form for a scholarship to the Scholarship Secretariat currently housed at the at the Ministry of Education (3rd Floor) with all the necessary attachments as indicated in Section 1.3
N.B. Presentation of the application form and meeting all the criteria stated above does not mean the automatic award of a government scholarship.
Scholarship to study in Universities overseas are awarded to:-
(i) Students whose parents are diplomats. In this case, the Government provides a fixed award of E21,000.00 towards students’ costs.
(ii) Students who have been successful in contesting for scholarships that have been made officially available to the Government of Eswatini through the Joint Bilateral Agreement programmes,. in this instance, the Governments provides an air ticket and living allowance, while the donor Government covers the other costs.
In both cases students would still be required to complete the Scholarship Application Form, apply and get a written acceptance letter from the identified university and present their application to the Scholarship Secretariat.
1.1. Completion of Scholarship Application Form
The Scholarship Application Form should be completed as soon as the student has finished writing his/her IGCSE examinations. The form is normally distributed to all Form 5 students towards the end of the academic year. It can also be collected physically from any Regional Education Office or the Scholarship Secretariat currently housed on the 3rd Floor of the Ministry of Education Headquarters in Mbabane. Students are cautioned to start as early as possible to complete the form as it involves consultations with and endorsement of several key witnesses such as the Chief or Indvuna of the students.
1.2. Application for College/University Admission
Application for college or university admission normally commences as soon as HIGSCE, O’ Level, IGSCE results are out and the students is in possession of an authentic transcript or certificate . Deadlines for submission of applications differ from one institution to the next and students should also note that some universities make their admissions twice in a year. It should also be noted that admissions policies of universities and/or colleges are de-linked from the Ministry's policies for the award of scholarships. Government is but one amongst many other sources of tertiary education finance and students are encouraged to apply for funding from other sources as a fall back alternative.
1.3 Presentation of Scholarship Application
Students are expected to submit the Application form, with all the necessary attachments by the 30 June of each year (if requiring scholarships to study in local institutions) or 31st December of each year for those requiring scholarship to study in South Africa and the rest of Africa.
There is no set deadline for students requiring to study overseas, as these depend on the Universities they will choose or be required to study at once the scholarship have been made available. Students should always insist on signing a log book upon submission of their Application Forms to the Scholarship Secretariat at Ministry of Education. No scholarship applications will be accepted after the deadline. Applications for the following year will not be received until the 1st November of each year, once students have signed their Agreement Forms.
All Scholarship Application Forms should be accompanied by the following attachments:
- Certified copies of the applicant’s birth and academic certificates and/or symbols;
- Certified copies of the applicant’s I.D. Card or Personal Identification Number (PIN) A current passport sized photo
- An original University/College acceptance letter.
- A Graded Tax Certificate.
2. Award of Government Scholarship Loan
All applicants in priority areas (determined by Government from time to time) shall be called for an interview by the Scholarship Selection Board before an award is made. Once the interviews have been conducted, notification of results shall be done through:
- Letters addressed to individual applicants.
- Lists of successful applicants grouped by the programmes they intend to pursue to be sent to the respective Universities or Colleges.
- 3. Criteria for the Award of Scholarship
3.1 Scholarship shall only be awarded for pre-service training covering first degree and diploma courses only, with the exception of a Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) and an Honours Degree in Psychology.
3.2 Students who were once granted a Government Scholarship loan shall not be considered.
3.3 The scholarship loan to be awarded to students who will be studying at the local institutions shall cover:
• Tuition
• Books
• Accommodation and meals
• Project and Uniform allowances
• Personal allowance
3.4 Preferential treatment shall be extended to students wishing to pursue courses in priority areas in local colleges or universities and only students in intending to take up course in priority areas not offered locally shall be considered for scholarship award outside the country.
3.5 Currently, the priority areas for scholarship award to study in local institutions and out of the country are:
Local Institutions
- Education and teaching programmes with a view to teaching at primary school level and in scarce subject areas such as Mathematics and Science, Information Communication Technology, French and Commercial Studies.
- Post-graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE)
- BSc. with a view to doing PGCE. Engineering and Environmental Science.
- Agriculture and Home Economics
- Nursing (All categories)
- Technical and Vocational subject areas
- Tourism and Hospitality.
Local Institutions at which students are awarded Government scholarships are:
The University of Eswatini, Eswatini College of Technology (ECOT), Limkokwing University of Creative Technology, William Pitcher College, Ngwane College, Good Shepherd, VOCTIM, Royal Science Technology Park, and Southern Africa Nazarene University.
In South Africa and Rest of Africa
- Actuarial and Forensic Science
- Engineering (All categories, save for Electronic Engineering
- Information Communication Technology (ICT)
- Optometry
- Town and Regional Planning
- Communications Pathology
- Special Education
- Bio-Medical Studies
- Speech and Hearing Therapy
- Occupational and Physiotherapy
- Social Work
- Sports and Science
- Medicine
- Surveying
- Clinical and Dental Psychology
- Radiography
- Para-Medical Studies
- Speech and Hearing Therapy
- Design and Technology
The Government of Eswatini recognizes the following Universities in South Africa and the rest of Africa:
Tshwane University of Technology, University of North West, Vaal University of Technology, University of Johannesburg, Stellenbosch University, Rhodes University, University of KwaZulu Natal, University of Witwatersrand, University of Cape Town, University of Limpopo (Medunsa) University of Pretoria, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan, University of Fort Hare and all Universities in the other SADC countries.
3.6 Students who do not meet the entry requirements for local tertiary institutions will not be considered for a scholarship award to study in South Africa, in Africa and abroad.
3.7 The award will be conditional upon the student committing herself/himself to a contract with Government.
3.8 No student shall be awarded a scholarship before or without appearing before the Scholarship Selection Board.
3.9 Only O’ Level IGCE, HIGSCE, Matric and or A’ Level results shall be considered for scholarship award and a point system shall be used to grade students according to performance.
3.10 The basic minimum requirements for scholarship award shall be five (5) credits obtained in not more than two sittings for both Diploma and Degree courses offered locally, in South Africa, the rest of Africa and abroad.
3.11 Entry qualifications obtained more than five (5) years ago will not be considered for award of scholarship. In addition, no scholarship will be awarded to mature entry students.
3.12 Scholarships shall be for the programme/course and duration approved as indicated in the Study Loan Agreement Form.
3.13 Students who wish to change programmes shall be required to appear before the Scholarship Selection Board.
3.14 The Scholarship Selection Board reserves the right to terminate or not award scholarship in the event the conditions set above are not met.
The Admission Point Score (APS) system allocates point values to the levels of achievement obtained for your IGCSE/SGCSE, O-LEVEL, or MATRIC subjects
If you take more than 5 subjects, select your 5 best subjects to calculate your APS.
This calculator is merely a guide, final admission is based on your final IGCSE/SGCSE, O-LEVEL or MATRIC exam results.
PLEASE NOTE: this calculator will add the points for the subjects you take at school and the marks you achieve. From that calculation, a list of suggested courses will be displayed HOWEVER, some of these courses may have additional requirements e.g. Mathematics and/or Physical Sciences may be compulsory subjects, Biology/Life sciences may be a compulsory subject etc. When you select a possible course, first make sure what the total requirements are
