Two scholarship schemes aimed at giving more Bermudians a chance at higher education were launched yesterday. Education Minister Terry Lister unveiled the National Training Board (NTB) initiatives at a press conference at the Cabinet Office.

He said the Board would provide funding for needy students to enrol on either a distance education course with Penn Foster Career School or a degree course with DeVry University, which specialises in business and technology and has campuses across North America. Up to 40 eligible students will get financial assistance of between $5,000 and $10,000 for the Penn Foster programmes. The Board will also offer scholarships of up to $13,500 for Bermudian students who enrol on Associate or Bachelor programmes at DeVry. Between 15 to 20 students a year are expected to receive the awards.

Mr. Lister said the Penn Foster scheme was aimed at those unable to do their studies overseas and would include specialist training programmes. The school already offers study 68 programmes, many aimed at eventually enabling students to launch their own businesses. Programmes include e-commerce administration, hospitality management, child day care management and computer graphics. The DeVry scholarships will be for students on technology-related programmes.