British High Commission confirms the likely cutting of Malaysian scholarship program

A 26-year-old scholarship program for young Malaysian students to study in the UK is likely to be scrapped, the British High Commission has confirmed.

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The British High Commission in Malaysia has lobbied to keep the scholarship programme for the current year.

The British Government is reviewing the future of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office programmes in several countries including Malaysia to reduce government spending.

Final decisions about the Chevening Scholarship Programme’s future will not be made until the government’s 2010 Spending Review.

While it is likely the programme will be scrapped, this year’s 14 scholarship recipients will still be going to London for the year-long programme, the British High Commission has confirmed.

The British High Commission said despite a £10 million cut from £25.5 million to the scholarship’s global budget for 2010-11, it had put forward “a strong case” to the British Government and secured sufficient funds to send all the recipients as originally planned.

The 14 scholars had received a letter informing them that the programme was being reviewed, despite already receiving offer letters from the British Council in March.

The group sent a memorandum to the British High Commission appealing for the programme to be reinstated.

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