Gov’t revives plan to help needy pupils
The Education Ministry plans to revive the One Ditrict, One Scholarship project to offer international education to underprivileged-students with a solid academic record to help develop their communities. Newly-appointed deputy education minister Panadda Diskul said he would approve the fifth phase of the scholarship programme, but some criteria must be adjusted to ensure only needy students benefit. ML. Panadda said the revised criteria will focus on supporting students to pursue their studies in vocational fields which the country needs. Launched by the Thaksin Shinawatra administration in 2004, the Odos project aimed to provide opportunities to high school graduates from poor families in each district nationwide to further their education abroad. The source of funds to sponsor students in the first and second phases was the 2- and 3- digit lottery, known as the above ground lottery, introduced by the same administration.
