Australian Universities - Scholarship Programme

Australian universities will receive a lucrative multi-million dollar government scholarship under a programe to lure the brightest students from Asia to study in Australia's universities.

The program is seen in the region as part of Australia's efforts to create a wider East Asian sphere and it is quite clear that Australia intends to be part of this Asian community of nations.  

Media reports state that the program would benefit Asian countries such as India, Vietnam and Japan.

The scheme is expected to be formally announced by the Prime Minister, John Howard during the East Asian Summit to be held in Kuala Lumpur.
 
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said that more than 205,000 East Asian students were already studying in Australia.

"I think those numbers will increase and we will have a substantial number of students studying in Australia on scholarship programmes," he said.

This program is revamped version of the Colombo Plan whereby more than 20,000 students were brought to Australia from the 50s to the 80s. This scheme will be reciprocal, thereby allowing Australian students to study in Asia.

By Neil Rao