Who's Involved??

Minister, a Permanent Secretary, two Deputy Permanent Secretaries, and various Business Analysts, Decision Support Specialists, Technical Advisors and Executive Assistants … what do all these people have in common?

Not so long ago, they were among the many hopeful citizens who applied to be interviewed. No, not for a job interview but just as important, a scholarship interview. These are all former recipients of the various scholarships.

If you thought that scholarships were only awarded by the Government on the basis of the Advanced Level Examination results, you’d be partially right. In addition to the two hundred-plus National Scholarships awarded annually based on the results of the GCE Advanced Level Examinations, National scholarships are also awarded based on the results of CAPE. Additionally, Special National Scholarships for students who attended the Junior Secondary and Senior Comprehensive Schools are also awarded. Apart from these, over two hundred (200) other awards are competed for annually.  These include, but are not limited to:

• Technical Assistance Awards, offered by donor countries and international organisations e.g. Commonwealth Scholarships tenable in the UK, and   New Zealand;
• Fellowships from the Organisation of American States (OAS);
• Scholarships to meet the needs of the Public Service; and 
• Scholarships awarded under the Production Sharing Contracts funded by foreign Oil Companies.

You too can be one of these four hundred scholarship winners!  That’s where the Ministry of Public Administration (MPA) comes in - the Scholarships and Advanced Training Division (SATD) located on the Fifth Floor, National Library Building is the agency responsible for administering Scholarships awarded by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago or awarded by foreign governments and International Agencies through the Government of Trinidad and Tobago.

After vetting the award conditions, the terms and conditions of the scholarship are published in the daily newspapers and throughout the Public Service.   Short-listed candidates are interviewed by the Scholarship Selection Committee whose recommendations are then submitted for the consideration of Cabinet.

The scholarship winner or trainee’s period of study is then managed by the Trainee Support Services (TSS) section for the duration of the scholarship.  The personnel of this section work closely with the award winners, ensuring that financial support for tuition is obtained and that personal maintenance allowance, book allowance, return airfare and other allowances are paid. In the case of public officers, TSS also liaises with the officers home Ministry/Department with regard to their increments, pension and leave record and their contractual obligations.

Being a scholarship recipient should not be taken lightly; every award winner signs a contract upon acceptance of the scholarship in which he/she agrees to work for the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and  Tobago, for a period of time (between 1-5 years based on the value of the award) on completion of the course of study.  The Scholarships and Advanced Training Division takes its role of identifying and grooming promising men and women for positions of leadership in the country very seriously, and the Division is aggressively pursuing strategies to ensure a positive return on Government’s investment in human capital. Consequently, the Job Placement and Obligation (JP&O) Section of SATD works with the Service Commission Department and other agencies to place returning scholars in positions commensurate with their qualifications.   In the event that scholars cannot be placed in a timely manner, these persons may then seek employment within the wider state sector or the private sector, but they must undertake to stay in Trinidad and Tobago for the period prescribed in their contracts. This ensures that the national community benefits from their training. Scholars who renege on this element of their contract are deemed to be in breach of the contract, which normally results in the automatic requirement to repay the sum of money expended on the scholarship, together with interest.

As always, MPA is committed to making Government services accessible to as many of our citizens as possible. While our purpose remains to attract and develop the best talent for the country, we have not stood still in our tracks to do so. This website provides information on Scholarship policies and programmes, with facilities for on-line applications, contact and support services for awardees, and a chat room for the easy exchange of views. It even facilitates research, between national scholars.  This is certainly good news for all our scholarship winners!

As an SATD scholar you can look forward to exciting times ahead.