Scholarships and studying abroad, for Seselwa

The Government of Seychelles Scholarship Scheme

This is the main road. The Agency for National Human Resource Development (ANHRD) administers the national scheme that has sent generations of Seychellois to university, most often to Malaysia, England and Mauritius, and increasingly to UniSey at home. It is open to Seychellois citizens for undergraduate, postgraduate and vocational study.

How a place is decided

Selection rests largely on academic performance in the UK-style system Seychelles uses, on a points count from three A-Level subjects, with conduct and activities taken into account. Students who reach the top points band, and all those who choose teaching, can be granted full government sponsorship; others are supported with tuition. What you study matters as much as how well you did, because funding follows the national priority list.

The priority fields

The priority list steers students toward the skills the country is short of. Priority 1 fields are funded in full, and they are the ones an island state needs most: health and welfare, education, the natural sciences, environment and the blue economy, engineering and construction. Choose a field further down the list, Priority 2, 3 or 4, and families are asked to contribute a share of the cost. The list is reviewed by the government, so treat the ANHRD's current version as authoritative.

The bond, honestly

A government scholarship is a contract, not a gift, and it is right to go in with eyes open. Every award carries a bonding agreement, signed by the student and a guarantor who is jointly liable, to return to Seychelles and work for the government or the country for a set period. The bond runs from a minimum of two years to a maximum of seven, scaled to the cost of the training. Graduates are generally expected to work for at least two years before applying to specialise further. If you break the bond, you and your guarantor repay the cost, so the guarantor question is real and worth settling early.

The funded international routes

Beyond the national scheme, Seychellois are eligible for some of the world's best-known fully funded programmes. These are separate applications with their own deadlines, and the deadline is the whole game.

Getting your Seychelles results recognised

Seychelles teaches to the British system, IGCSE and A-Levels, so your certificates are widely understood by foreign universities. When an institution needs an equivalency assessment, the Seychelles Qualifications Authority can evaluate and certify qualifications. Keep certified copies of everything, apostilled where a country asks for it, the same paper chain the Papers Office describes for civil documents.

Studying at home

Not every road leads out. The University of Seychelles offers degrees at home, many awarded by the University of London, and can be a first step toward a funded postgraduate place abroad.