The Dutch government has granted 69 Ghanaians scholarship to study in the Netherlands in various disciplines.

A statement from the Dutch Embassy said 42 of the candidates would be pursue Master’s degree programmes, in various disciplines such as Water Resource Management, Public Health, Rural development and Food Security, among others.

Twenty four of them would also be pursuing short courses in Climate Change Management, Food Security, Urban management and development through the Netherlands Fellowship Programme (NFP).

A pre departure briefing for the 69 new students, who would be leaving to pursue their studies in the Netherlands in October, would be held at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands by the Netherlands Alumni Association in Ghana and the Embassy.

From 2011 to 2014, the Dutch government has spent in total GH¢ 26 million (€6million) on NUFFIC NFP scholarships for Ghanaian students.

The NFP is a scholarship programme of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands for individuals and it aims to help increase the supply of skilled labour in Ghana.

It also aims to strengthen the various organisations these students currently work with. Half of the available scholarships are allocated to women and candidates who live in disadvantaged regions.

Besides the NFP scholarship programme for individuals, the Dutch government continues to support education in Ghana through: the Tailor Made Training, which promotes capacity by providing training for professionals on the request of a specific organisation; and The Netherlands Initiative for Capacity Development in Higher Education and Vocational Training, which focus is on the country and policy priorities identified in the Dutch bilateral cooperation programme.

In line with the current development policy of the Netherlands, the programme focuses on Water and Sanitation, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights and Agriculture.

The NFP programmes are initiated and fully funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the budget for development cooperation.