Samia Scholarship expands overseas opportunities
DODOMA: THE government has secured 10 additional overseas scholarships for high-performing Form Six science students, raising to 60 the number of Tanzanian students set to pursue undergraduate studies abroad under the Samia Scholarship Extended Programme.
The opportunities were secured through Russia’s Peoples’ Friendship University (RUDN) following President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s visit to Russia in June, further strengthening education cooperation between the two countries.
Speaking to journalists in Dodoma on Thursday, Minister for Education, Science and Technology, Prof Adolf Mkenda, said the 10 students would travel to Moscow for a 10-month preparatory programme before starting undergraduate studies.
The students were selected from those who performed best in PCM, PGM and PMC combinations, taking positions 51 to 60 after the first 50 had been selected for overseas scholarships.
“In total, we will be sending 60 students abroad, and all of them have studied PCM, PGM or PMC,” Prof Mkenda said.
He said eight of the additional students were from government schools and two from private schools, adding that academic merit was the sole criterion.
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Prof Mkenda said the ministry assessed candidates’ examination results and school performance to identify the best students, particularly where scores were closely matched.
He said the preparatory programme would be funded jointly, with the Russian government covering 80 per cent of the costs and the Samia Scholarship Extended programme meeting the remaining 20 per cent.
Once the students begin undergraduate studies at Russian universities, the Russian government will cover all education costs.
Prof Mkenda said the additional scholarships resulted from President Samia’s discussions during her Russia visit, allowing Tanzania to identify and select its top-performing students rather than relying on the normal Russian selection process.
He said more opportunities were expected as cooperation in science, engineering and technology expanded.
Prof Mkenda said the programme was part of the government efforts to expand access to quality education in priority fields and develop a pool of highly skilled professionals.
The ministry recently announced 1,050 full scholarships for top-performing Form Six students for the 2026/27 academic year. Of these, 1,000 will study priority programmes at local higher learning institutions, while the first 50 were selected for overseas studies.
He added that sending students abroad would also create opportunities for more Tanzanians to access higher education loans because overseas students would not require local loan facilities.
The names of the 10 additional beneficiaries have been published on the ministry’s website.
