Education Briefs
Education Briefs
Few Graduate Despite $7.3 M Aid
An assessment of the impact of U.S. funding on education in the Marshall Islands by Honolulu-based Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL) reported in November that between 1988 and 1999, the Marshall Islands spent $7.3 million on 1,614 college scholarship recipients. But of this group, just 245 — about 15 percent — completed their studies.
The report notes that "even among the completers, the educational achievement is quite modest. Out of the 245 persons who completed their courses, 91 attained certificates, which are usually one- or two-semester courses of study."
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The majority (154) attained either certificates or two-year (AA/AS) degrees, and only 12 completed advanced degrees, the report said. The small number of completers is "usually attributed to the fact that many Marshall Islands post-secondary students lack the academic skills needed to succeed in college and drop out before graduating," the report said.
The Compact of Free Association’s scholarship provisions indicate that funding should be awarded to advance the nation’s overall economic development plan. But, said PREL in its evaluation, "it is not clear how this is being achieved." For example, in a recent year the largest number of students (18 percent) were in "liberal arts" courses. "By contrast only one student was enrolled in a tourism-related program, two students in marine science disciplines, and no students in agriculture science, even though these industries are at the center of the Marshall Islands’ economic development plan."
—Giff JohnsonMarianas Get Results from Scholarships
An initial survey conducted by the CNMI Scholarship Office on the status of CNMI's government scholarship students reveals that during the past decade, 49 percent of the recipients have completed their degrees and now hold jobs in the Commonwealth.
But out of some 356 scholars surveyed, the Scholarship Office disclosed it has lost touch with some 19 percent of students who have received college financial aid.
Preliminary results of the study further show that 13 percent of scholarship recipients have graduated and are pursuing post graduate studies abroad. The scholarship granting agency also disclosed that four percent of students surveyed have obtained college diplomas but have landed jobs outside the Commonwealth. Scholarship Office Administrator Hilaria K. Santos explained these are the portion of recipients who have broken the scholarship rules by choosing to gain employment elsewhere.
"They did not fulfill the memorandum of agreement which states that they need to come back to the CNMI for a few years and work here," said Santos.
The survey, which the agency started in February 2000, was commissioned to track recipients and determine whether the government is getting a good return of investment for the students that it has put through school.
—Aldwin R. Fajardo
