Wednesday May 28, 2008 MYT 3:52:18 PM

Privilege to receive a scholarship, says Nazri

By LEE YUK PENG

KUALA LUMPUR: It is a privilege to receive a scholarship, not a right to receive one, says Datuk Seri Nazri Abd Aziz, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department.

"Not all high achievers will get the scholarships,'' he said, adding that the Government at the moment allocated only 2,000 students who excelled in their SPM, to be sent overseas.

Of the 15,220 applicants, a total of 7,282 were called in for interview and out of the 7,000-odd candidates, 2,000 were selected.

"The scholorships are limited but there are a lot of applicants,'' he said Wednesday when winding up the Supplementary Supply Bill at the Dewan Rakyat.

To another question by Ahmad Maslan (BN - Pontian) to increase the number of scholarships, Nazri said the Government could not afford to give 2,000 now.

Nazri also said students who did well in public examinations but came from well-to-do backgrounds also deserved a scholarship.

He explained that a student is granted scholarship based on academic performance (70%) and interview, background and extra-curricular activities (30%).