141128 Australian Embassy Press Statement on handing over of Australia Awards Scholarships to Nepalese students

At a ceremony held in Kathmandu on 28 November 2014, the Australian
Government awarded 44 Australia Awards Scholarships and two Australia
Awards Endeavour Scholarships and Fellowships to 46 Nepali candidates
to pursue postgraduate studies in Australia commencing in 2015.
Australia is one of the largest providers of scholarships in Nepal.
More than 484 development-focussed scholarships have been awarded in
Nepal since the 1960s.

The farewell ceremony was presided by the Australian Ambassador to
Nepal HE Mr Glenn White and the Chief Secretary of the Government of
Nepal Mr Leela Mani Poudyal. Congratulating the awardees, Ambassador
White said "You join the many hundreds of Nepali scholarship holders
who have studied in Australia over the decades and applied their
experience to Nepal's development. In doing this you also further
strengthen the ties between our two countries." He wished the awardees
well for their studies and noted that the Scholarships would help
strengthen Nepal's capacity in key sectors such as education,
livelihoods, public policy and governance.

After distributing certificate to the awardees, Chief Secretary
Paudyal congratulated them for their achievement. He also expressed
his thanks to Australia for its valuable support and

cooperation. The awardees of this year come from diverse backgrounds
and are employed in the civil service, development sector and private
enterprise. Twenty-two of the 46 awardees are

women and 10 are public servants and they will pursue studies in
priority development sectors for Australia and the Government of Nepal
which include education, livelihoods,governance and water resource
management. The areas of study for two awardees will focus on meeting
the learning needs of Children with Disability including autism.

Through the Australia Awards the Australian Government provides access
to high quality education to promising Nepalis from all walks of life.
Eight of the Australia Awards Scholarships this year are offered to
candidates from remote regions of Nepal and traditionally marginalised
groups and more than 50 per cent of the Australia Awards are offered
to women.

For many years, scholarships have formed an important part of
Australia's bilateral aid program for Nepal. The Australian Government
offers these Australia Awards Scholarships annually in Nepal.

The next round of Australia Awards Scholarships will open for
applications between 1 February 2015 and 30 April 2015. Please visit
the Australia Awards website: www.australiaawards.gov.au or
www.australiaawardsnepal.org for further information.