The Ministry of Education announced that government scholarships for overseas study this year is capped at 50 awards, a marked decrease from over 100 awards in the past. This is a result of continued review of present human resource demand prompted by the economic downturn. However, the ministry saw raising demand for education loans provided by the government for students to pursue their studies abroad.

It was reported in the past that more than 65 former scholars were released from their government bonds since 2014 following their inability to secure government jobs after returning from overseas study. To minimise this effect in future, the Ministry of Education is continuously reviewing the Scholarship Policy particularly the list of eligible courses to match the projected human resource requirement of the public sector. The Scholarship Section is also proactively sending out a list of courses that scholars are taking, the level of study and expected year of return to remind government ministries who have requested for specific field of study.

At the national level, the government has recently established a National Manpower Planning Council to reduce unemployment and channel human resources into growth industries. One of the short term priority actions of the Council is to create a centralized database that will improve data collection and management to match the labour demands in both public and private sector.

Comment by Cecile Dasal, British Council Brunei:

Based on the Ministry of Education's on-going monitoring of returned scholars and review of Manpower Planning Council it is expected there will be changes on the national priority list of courses for 2017. Students can only apply to the top-250 universities for their undergraduate studies. For postgraduate Masters and PhD only the top-200 and top-100 universities respectively will be considered. Rankings considered include the QS, Times Higher or Shanghai Jiao Tong. Institutions not in the top 250 will not be considered unless there is an existing MoU with the Ministry of Education. Courses related to health, construction and environment tops the list of critical courses.

For education loans students will need to refer to the Good University Guide and choose the top-40 universities or top-20 in subject rankings. The top-300 in QS rankings will also be considered. As more students are taking up government education loan, it is suggested that UK institutions need to engage with sponsors and school contacts when they are visiting Brunei to highlight their ranking and areas of specialisation. Word-of-mouth and brand visibility are important marketing tools and thus it is crucial that institutions visit Brunei on a regular basis.

Institutions offering TNE programmes in the region should also point them out to students and parents as these options would help reduce the education loan requirement to fund the studies. Grants or bursaries available to Bruneian students will also help alleviate the costs of studying. Finally, exposure to industry and opportunity for work experience while studying are also unique selling points since unemployment in Brunei is becoming a worry.