Students applying for scholarships for their undergraduate studies will not have to fulfil the usual grade requirements, the Ministry of Education has announced.
The waiver is a “temporary COVID-19 measure”, a spokesperson confirmed to the Compass on Wednesday.
Minister for Education Juliana O’Connor-Connolly said in a press release that students had “faced extenuating circumstances that prevented them from realising their full potential” as a result of the pandemic.
“By temporarily waiving the grade requirements for students who had been conditionally approved for scholarships to begin overseas undergraduate studies this fall and for those seeking to begin further education programs locally, we will ensure that every Caymanian student has a chance of achieving great academic success irrespective of their circumstances,” she said.
The measure applies to students who are applying for scholarships to begin undergraduate studies this autumn at accredited overseas institutions, as well as locally.
For overseas undergraduate students, the waiver applies to qualifying grades normally required from the following programmes: Advanced Placement; Advanced Level (A Levels); Caribbean Advanced Placement Examination (CAPE); Associate Level Studies; Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) Level 3; International Baccalaureate (IB); and Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT).
Overseas undergraduate scholarships are administered by the education ministry’s Scholarship Secretariat Unit and awarded by the Education Council to Caymanian applicants fully accepted into accredited, recognised overseas institutions and who obtain certain grade benchmarks from a variety of programmes, the press release stated.
For those studying locally, the temporary waiver will also apply to the following programmes: Certificate level studies at University College of the Cayman Islands and Cayman Career Academy; pre-college level studies at UCCI; associate level studies at UCCI, International College of the Cayman Islands and University of the West Indies Open Campus; bachelor-level studies at UCCI, ICCI, Truman Bodden Law School and UWI Open Campus; first-year A level studies at St. Ignatius Catholic School and Cayman Prep High School; and second year A level studies at St. Ignatius and Cayman Prep.
Related Videos
