Ten Nepali students selected for PLUS scholarships

March 6, 2005
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Ten Nepali students have been selected for the ‘ Partnerships for Learning Undergraduate Studies’ (PLUS)—a new initiative launched by the US government.

According to the American Center in Kathmandu, Angjuk Lama, Kamal Poudel, Man Bahadur Gurung, Moksheda Thapa, Nabi Joshi, Narayan Parajuli, Nirmala Gyawali, Ramesh Deshar and Safala Shrestha have been selected to study undergraduate courses at various universities in the USA. Four of them have already left for the US while the rest are scheduled to depart by May this year.

The programme, administered by the USEF Nepal (The Fulbright Commission), provides full scholarships for three to six months of intensive English language and study skills at American institutions before completing the final two years of a four-year undergraduate degree programme and graduating from a US university.

The programme targets talented students especially from “under-served communities and regions” who have completed two years of a Bachelors degree in Arts, Humanities or Social Science subjects from Tribhuvan University and its affiliated colleges, the American Center said.

The majority of the students selected under the programme are products of government schools and colleges. “It is highly unlikely that any of them could have aspired to or afforded a US undergraduate education without the assistance of the PLUS programme,” said the statement.

This year’s PLUS awardees include a student from Humla who works for an NGO, a young woman from Gulmi who has been blind since birth, a talented artist from rural Gorkha, an accomplished young journalist from Jhapa, a dedicated social activist and teacher from Chapagaun (Lalitpur) and a hard working geographer from Tanahun, the statement said.