Disabled students get scholarships<\/p>\n
Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Mohammad Afdal, 21, adjusted his glasses several times as he
\nsquinted at the words written in bold across the white corkboard:
\n"Rp 90 million in scholarships".<\/p>\n
The money was to help finance his studies at the University of
\nIndonesia (UI)'s School of Economics.<\/p>\n
"This is good. I'm excited about this because at some point, I
\nknow that my studies will be sustained and guaranteed," he told
\nThe Jakarta Post after a ceremony to present the scholarship
\nmoney on Monday.<\/p>\n
Afdal, in his third year at the university, was among four UI
\nstudents with physical disabilities who received a total of Rp 90
\nmillion (some US$10,000) in scholarships from the Hongkong and
\nShanghai Banking Corporation Ltd. (HSBC).<\/p>\n
HSBC calls them Diversity Scholarships in acknowledgement of
\nthe diversity that exists in society.<\/p>\n
Afdal is totally blind in one eye and has impaired vision in
\nthe other.<\/p>\n
"My father died some years ago and my mother works as a street
\nvendor. I try to help pay my university fees by giving private
\nlessons to people. This helps a lot since we don't get assistance
\nfrom the university," he said.<\/p>\n
The other three scholarship recipients are Arum Puspita, a
\nhistory student in her fourth year, Erwin Febriansyah, a public
\nhealth student in his first year, and Ahmad Fatulbari, a history
\nstudent in his second year.<\/p>\n
UI rector Usman Chatib Warsa said grades were not the main
\nfactor in determining the scholarship recipients, but rather the
\nuniversity looked at their physical disabilities and their
\nfinancial need.<\/p>\n
"The scholarships will be used mainly to cover tuition, books
\nand some living expenses. They might also be used to cover
\nresearch expenses for their theses," he said.<\/p>\n
University of Indonesia is one of four state universities
\nallowed to set its own entrance and tuition fees, in exchange for
\na cut in the government subsidy it receives. Students entering
\nthe university this academic year were charged an admission fee
\nof between Rp 25 million and Rp 75 million.<\/p>\n
HSBC's deputy chief executive officer for Indonesia, Mervyn
\nFong, said how the scholarships were used would be decided by the
\nuniversity, and expressed hope the bank would be able to provide
\nmore scholarships in the future.<\/p>\n
"Education is very important and I think it's the only thing
\nthan can close the economic gap. Of course, we'll try to keep in
\ncontact with these students. We might even employ them when they
\ngraduate," he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/disabled-students-get-scholarships-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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