Students to get grants at Laksamana

THE government will start offering full and partial scholarships for some courses at Laksamana College of Business in the next semester this year.

The courses include Business and Technician Education Council (BTEC) Higher National Certificates (HNC) and Higher National Diploma (HND) in Computing and the London Chamber of Commerce Industry (LCCI) Diploma in Accounting, Marketing and Business Industrial Administration.

Speaking during a graduation ceremony for 156 students at the private college yesterday, Ian Pirie, principal/director of Laksamana College of Business/Kensington College of Business, said successful applicants of the scholarships will also be eligible for travel allowances.

"Equally important is the second group of Laksamana courses for which students will be awarded a monthly allowance of $500 or $450 which will cover approximately two-third of the tuition fees and leave parents to make a much smaller contribution to their children's higher education," he said.

The courses that will be offered the partial financial assistance are the University Foundation Course and Degree Common Year One which qualify students to study for degrees in the United Kingdom, either joining the first or second year of their chosen degree programme, Pirie added.

In his birthday titah on July 15, His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam first announced the provision of the allowance be extended to children of citizens and permanent residents working in the private sector and an "active" member of the Employees Trust Fund.

Their children who are studying at accredited private institutions in the country at the tertiary education level, would be eligible for the education allowance.

Deputy Minister of Education Dato Seri Setia Hj Yusoff Hj Ismail yesterday presented certificates to 14 graduates who were named "best students" during the ceremony at The Rizqun International Hotel.

One of the best students, Nurul Jannah Wahab, 20, said that she was overwhelmed with what she has achieved

"At first I could not believe that I managed to achieve these grades (eight grade As and two grade Bs), I'm proud of myself," said Nurul, who studied BA Common Year One, which is equivalent to the first year of an undergraduate programme.

She added that she will continue to pursue her degree in Business Management and Marketing in the United Kingdom this year.

Another best student, Alice Chaw Li Fang, 19, who completed her Kensington College of Business (KCB) Higher Diploma in Business Management, scored four grade As.

"I'm very proud of myself as I got all grade A (on all four subjects), I'm also happy because I make a lot of friends, mostly locals, but I also have classmates from overseas such as Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Singapore," Alice said.

She added that she will be going to the United Kingdom this year to pursue her studies in Finance.

Present during the graduation were Julian Miller, deputy British High Commissioner; Laksamana College of Business board of directors, senior officials and parents.The Brunei Times