A 37-year-old man from Manono and Magiagi, who is striving to make ends meet for his family, was among 20 recipients of the Chinese Ambassador's Scholarship.

Funded by the Government of the People's Republic of China, the official handing over ceremony of the scholarships was held at the National University of Samoa (N.U.S.)  Fale on Friday evening. China's Ambassador to Samoa, Chao Xiaoliang handed over the scholarships to the successful students.

Most of the students were amongst the graduating class of the university last week.

In an interview with the Samoa Observer, one of the lucky students and father of three, Mikaele Mulipola has his eyes set on a three-year Bachelor in Education degree at the N.U.S Faculty of Education.

"I was a teacher before when I graduated with a diploma in education but I quit because I wanted to earn more as the diploma pay rate was not enough to support my family and make my dreams for my family come true," he said. "It was a difficult decision because my mind and that of my wife's were heavy on where we would find the money to pay for my tuition fee.

"Luckily, I found a form for this scholarship in one of the bags of scholarships during the enrolment and I just filled it up together with other scholarship forms. I filled out so many forms and none of them were successful except for this scholarship. 

"I praise God and thank the government of China for enabling us to pursue our dreams and take this load off our shoulders at a very convenient time in our lives."

Mr. Mulipola was one of the first students who received scholarships through this program last year when it first started, impressed by their noble virtues and outstanding achievements academically as well as in extracurricular activities. 

The scholarship program is categorised into three categories: first is a scholarship of SAT$2,000; second is a SAT$1,000 scholarship and third is SAT$500 and Mr. Mulipola qualified for the second category.

In the second semester of last year, the Chinese Ambassador Scholarship Program was officially launched and 40 students received scholarship awards.

Mr Chao in his remarks highlighted the Chinese government's ongoing support for Samoa through this program and added that as an epitome of overall education cooperation, there exists a long history and sound foundation in the China-Samoa people-to-people communication and cultural exchanges.

"Education is pivotal to the enduring prosperity of a country. Acting on a people-centred philosophy of development, China continues to develop more equitable and higher-quality education," he added. "In the last five years, the retention rate in nine-year compulsory education rose from 93.8 per cent to 95.5 per cent, increasing the gross enrollment ratio for senior secondary education to over 90 per cent.

"China remains committed to opening up to the world and expanding international cooperation to deliver mutually beneficial outcomes."

N.U.S Vice Chancellor, Tuifuisa'a Patila Amosa on behalf of the university thanked the Ambassador for the ongoing support of the Chinese government through the scholarship program which has enabled N.U.S students to pursue their academic journeys.