Summary

This report reviews the Mozambique In-Country Scholarship Assistance Scheme.

Description

Overall, the ICRT finds that in-country scholarship programs of this kind are an effective form of aid. However, in the current context of Mozambique and perhaps elsewhere, serious consideration would need to be given to pooling future support with the government's scholarship programs and the programs of other donors providing similar forms of aid. This reflects strong moves towards donor harmonisation in the tertiary education sector in Mozambique associated with broader financial reforms assisted by the World Bank and other major donors.

More generally, before launching any future in-country scholarship programs in Africa or elsewhere, a more targeted approach should be considered. The ICSAS fundamentally provided budget support in the tertiary education sector. A program of equivalent size could only ever hope to assist a very small number of deserving students. A similar AusAID program in Laos is targeted towards a particular group of students that might subsequently qualify for overseas scholarships and has been successful. ICSAS has also achieved some modest impact in this area although this was not a stated objective and outcomes have not been monitored.

Mozambique In-Country Scholarship Assistance Scheme (ICSAS) - Independent Completion Review [PDF 155KB]Mozambique In-Country Scholarship Assistance Scheme (ICSAS) - Independent Completion Review [DOC 673KB]