Over $30 Million in Scholarships to Increase Access to Postsecondary Education for Students in Sub-Saharan Africa
UNICAF'S recent London conference held in partnership with University of South Wales was focused on expanding access to tertiary education for 5 million African students and on how innovative technological approaches can increase access to higher education.
- (1888PressRelease) June 06, 2015 - UNICAF, the leading platform for delivering online university degrees in Africa, announced today that they have provided over $30 million in scholarships for Sub-Saharan African students pursuing postsecondary education in the last two years. The announcement follows UNICAF's recent London conference held in partnership with University of South Wales, which focused on expanding access to tertiary education for 5 million African students. University of South Wales, in addition to three other universities, has pledged to make its degree programmes available to with significant scholarship support via UNICAF.
"Sub-Saharan Africa, with a population of about 800M people, over 50% below the age of 19, is the most underserved region in the world for higher education. Less than 10% of potential students have access to a university education and millions of students are turned away annually due to capacity constraints," said Dr. Nicos Nicolaou, President of UNICAF "UNICAF was founded to bridge this gap and to make affordable international-caliber university education available and affordable across Sub-Saharan Africa. I am delighted that we are able to provide scholarships in partnership with some of the best universities in the world."
Through UNICAF, students in Sub-Saharan Africa can access and afford internationally recognized Bachelor's and Master's degree programmes focused on employability. Students are eligible for scholarships up to 80% of the cost of tuition, depending on the student's financial need. UNICAF has built a full stack technology platform for delivery of these degree programmes, focused on maintaining consistent, high quality in an efficient online and mobile format. UNICAF, which has enrolled thousands of students from Sub-Saharan Africa, is one of the largest online university degree providers in the region.
"As in all parts of the world expanding the reach and access to higher education from the preserve of the elite to all those with the ability to succeed is essential not only for the individual but for good governance and a fair and stable society," said Lord Williams of Oystermouth, the Chancellor of the University of South Wales and keynote speaker at the conference commented, "I believe that expanding access to education in Africa is an important initiative, consistent with the mission of our university and conducive to the global development of higher education."
The conference in London was attended by senior leaders from UK, European and Asian universities, educators and governmental ministers from Africa and experts in higher education administration. The focus of the conference was on how innovative technological approaches can increase access to higher education.
Dr. Susan Koyzis, Academic Director of UNICAF, said: "We are working on defining the instructional approaches that will allow us and our colleagues at universities worldwide to educate the next 5 million students in Africa. We welcome collaboration and exchange on these topics and consider them to be of critical importance in developing the human potential of the next generation."
About the University of South Wales
The University of South Wales is the largest university in Wales and one of the largest in the United Kingdom. It has become the university of choice for many EU and international students due to its reputation for quality programmes, high employment success and award-winning student support.
About UNICAF
UNICAF is one of the most generous scholarship programmes available. The programme supports students that are domiciled in Africa and provides opportunities for studies towards various distance learning degree programmes awarded by European, British and American universities. Currently UNICAF provides scholarships for the online programmes offered by the University of South Wales in the UK, the University of Nicosia in the EU and the Marymount California University in the USA.
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