The “Asidisi” Scholarship Programme organized annually by the Ministry of Mass Media with the objective of equipping all journalists with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to establish the art of professional journalism, would have its symbolic Scholarship Awards Ceremony this time on Tuesday, December 22 at 10:30 a.m. at the auditorium of the Ministry of Mass Media.

The purpose of this project is to create an environment for journalists to improve their skills via training courses and encouraging them.

Journalists, Freelance Journalists, Provincial Journalists and Web Journalists who have obtained the Identity Card issued by the Department of Government Information, between the ages of 18-55 and have completed three years of full time or part time service in recognized electronic and print media institutions in the island would be awarded with this scholarship on non-refundable basis.

A maximum amount of Two hundred thousand rupees (Rs.200,000.00) for undergraduate and postgraduate courses or One hundred thousand rupees (Rs. 100,000.00) for short or long term certificate courses, diplomas and advanced diploma courses would be offered under this scholarship program. Scholarship recipients can take media related courses conducted by recognized universities and higher educational training institutions.

Under this scheme of scholarship, the journalists have the opportunity to reap its benefits twice without paying any amount of money and the journalists who have successfully completed the course can apply for the second chance in five years after being qualified for the 1 st time.

Journalists who are eligible for the scholarship will be paid 50% of the course fee at the beginning of the course as the first installment, 25% of the remaining 50% as the second installment and the remaining 25% at the submission of the certificate after the successful completion of the course.

The beneficiaries were selected after interviewing the applicants by a committee elected by the secretary of the Mass Media Ministry. Among the journalists who had applied for the scholarship this time, the Ministry of Mass Media has taken steps to offer this scholarship to everyone who has fulfilled the qualifications. Accordingly, 85 journalists are eligible for these scholarships.