AID TO EDUCATION

Fellowships, study and travel grants After the Second World War it became rapidly apparent that Member States urgently required specialists in education just as they needed those in the other fields falling within UNESCO’s mandate. War-devastated countries, those beginning the process of industrialization, and the newly independent nations all had to cope with shortfalls in the number of specialists at middle and higher levels. So, it was not long before UNESCO’s programme began to focus on encouraging study abroad, either to address the training needs encountered by countries lacking adequate facilities, or to enable exchanges of persons and experiences at subregional, regional and international levels. FELLOWSHIP-HOLDERS UNESCO fellowships are granted at the request of Member States and Associate Members. Between 1948 and 1996, a period during which approximately 40,000 grants were awarded by UNESCO, a trend can be discerned in the origin of beneficiaries as shown by the variations in the number of grants awarded to the different regions. Continuous efforts are made to reduce the initial gap between males and females, the percentage of the latter being in constant progression, albeit still very low. Fellowship-holders are usually people who have already begun their careers, or are at an advanced stage of their university education. In many projects addressing development issues, fellowships enable people deeply involved in a project to replace their foreign counterparts on return to their home countries. But, in some cases, fellowships are granted to younger candidates to assure their training in essential sectors for which there are no facilities in their own countries, for example, in documentation and use of visual aids in teaching and, more recently, the new information and communication technologies, educational research and some spheres of higher education. FIELDS OF STUDY Generally speaking, fields of study are chosen according to national needs and to worldwide trends in programming, management, methods and financing, as well as the closely related areas of science, culture and communication, taking into account multidisciplinary perspectives related to the global problems of society and the environment. EVALUATION OF THE FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMME Upon completion of their studies, fellowship-holders submit a report and UNESCO seeks to assess the benefit derived from the fellowships awarded, especially with reference to the duties assigned to the fellowship-holders as compared with those for which the fellowship was granted. Experience shows that a very substantial proportion of fellowship-holders do in fact go back to their home countries and assume the responsibilities for which they have been trained, or comparable ones. INFORMATION ON OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDY ABROAD The publication of reference works on this subject is an important aspect of UNESCO’s action in this field. The best known is Study Abroad, which includes a comprehensive survey of the opportunities offered for training. A directory of UNESCO fellowship-holders is also available, providing Member States with information about the availability of qualified staff trained by means of these fellowships.

STUDY ABROAD since 1948 Over 74.000 scholarships offered worldwide in 1956!