Honorary Consul of the Republic of Indonesia in Ghana, H.E Paskal A.B. Rois has made known the Indonesian government’s readiness to accept Ghanaian applications for next year’s Kemitraan Negara Berkembang Scholarship programme (KNB Scholarship).

The KNB Scholarship is a financial assistance package offered by the Indonesian government to prospective international students from developing countries to pursue various degree programmes in Indonesian universities.

Having been in existence since 1992, the scholarship opportunity is offered to potential students from developing countries to earn Bachelors, Master’s and Doctorate degrees in a variety of courses that span across Humanities, Engineering, Social Sciences, Sciences and Education.

According to Hon. Rois however, over the last three years, only two Ghanaians have applied to partake in the programme.

He was speaking during a brief ceremony to welcome the last beneficiary of the scholarship back to Ghana, where he described the phenomenon as ‘disturbing’.

Mr Rois, who also doubles as the Managing Director of Rig Oil International Services, also urged Bachelor’s Degree holders of not more than 25years, and Master’s Degree holders aged 35 and below, both with CGPAs of 3.25 or better to apply for the scholarship programme.

The age limit for Doctorate Degree scholarship, however, he noted, is set at 40 years.

The KNB scholarship, Hon. Rois explained, offers the experience of studying in top Indonesian universities and living in one of the world’s most diverse and vibrant societies, and aims to contribute towards human resource development, promote deeper cultural understanding and strengthen relationships and cooperation between developing countries.

2018 beneficiary of the KNB Scholarship, Courage Yaw Krah, who studied Master of Science (MSc) Post Harvest Technology at the Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB) Graduate School, revealed during the ceremony that all expenses, including flights to and from Indonesia, were covered by the scholarship.

He acknowledged the programmes as having offered him the opportunity to learn more about processing foodstuffs and noted that he looks forward to putting that knowledge to practice in Ghana.

Mr. Krah further admonished Ghanaians to apply for the KNB scholarship.

The next KNB Scholarship application process would be opened in February 2022 and conducted online through the official website.