News

The Cayman Islands Ministry of Education (MoE) announces further enhancements to its current scholarship programme following its 7 July announcement of several increased scholarship funding opportunities for post-secondary and undergraduate students.

Increased Postgraduate Overseas Funding

The standard annual funding for all overseas postgraduate studies, i.e. Masters and Doctoral degrees, will increase from up to CI $25,000.00 to CI $35,000.00 per student per annum for current and new postgraduate students.

Minister for Education, the Honourable Juliana O'Connor-Connolly, provided further details on the funding increase scheduled to begin with immediate effect.

"Following careful consideration, the Cayman Islands Government saw the need to revise the current funding amount to ease more of the financial burden that many of our Caymanian students face when in pursuit of higher learning opportunities," Minister O'Connor-Connolly commented.

One-time Grant towards Student Visas

The Ministry of Education also announced a one-time grant of $1,500.00 towards the costs associated with obtaining a student visa.

Minister O'Connor-Connolly continued, "Since the onset of the COVID 19 pandemic, students, particularly those accepted to institutions in the United States and Canada, have faced increased expenses in their efforts to obtain a student visa. They often have difficulties accessing regular flights and incur high costs due to quarantine protocols in the countries where embassies are located."

Temporary Waiver of SAT Requirement

Another notable enhancement to the scholarship programme includes the temporary waiver of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) requirement for students initiating studies in US-based institutions in fall 2021.

"This will enable us to remove an obstacle in the educational development of a number of students and enhance their pathways to higher levels of tertiary education, thereby allowing Caymanians greater opportunities for advancing within the workforce," Minister O'Connor-Connolly remarked.

Increase in A-Level Funding

The Ministry of Education also announced a broadening of the scholarship award to include full tuition funding for all Caymanian students pursuing Advanced (A-Level) Level studies at St Ignatius Catholic School and Cayman Prep & High School throughout the prescribed two years of study.

For more information about the various grants and other enhanced scholarship offerings, please contact MoE's Scholarship Secretariat Unit by email at scholarships@gov.ky.