So...I will share with you my issue! I promise I will try not to be a drama queen! I am just trying to understand what is going on with my situation with Palau's Ministry of Education government grant in relation to what I have learned and heard about policies, grants, the government, economy, and higher education institutions....
I have been very stupid over these almost two years in grad school by not having a diverse source of financing of my education. I have been reliant on a single government grant from Palau's Ministry of Education. As a result, if that money stops coming, I'm doomed! I will have to postpone my education. I thought I was smart this semester, so I applied to another government grant! HOWEVER, this other grant has not responded with any updates in regards to whether I am to receive any piece of the pie. I was told that disbursement of the grant will occur during the end of October, but it is now beginning of November. Hm?
I am trying to imagine what is going on that is resulting in the hold-up:
Policy-wise, there may exist inconsistent policies guiding the process of selecting eligible applicants, determining the amount of award to each applicant, and other policies to regulate the grants and applicants' accountability.
Bureaucracy-wise, there may be various individuals involved, including the board members and the minister, in which paperwork and authorization and whatever else occurs within the processing these government grants must pass through before the final state, approval, and, finally, awarding.
Applicant-wise, can it be possible that there's a hold-up in the process because the board committee, the minister, and other involved are having a hard time determining an eligible applicants to receive the grants? So far, the application only ask for the student's academic background, college level and field of study, and student's college level--undergraduate or graduate. I wonder what determines an eligible applicant:
college level: a graduate student may be a more potential human capital since he/she may have gained more skills and knowledge in his/her field of study as they have invested more time in college. However, graduate students pay higher tuition so that means more money for them...but this is not necessary. Maybe they will see graduate students as more able to find a job so that they can finance their education using their earnings in addition to grants. Therefore, maybe graduate students may receive a smaller portion of the grant money. In addition, undergraduate students may have preference over graduate students because the government of whoever is administering and creating the policies see undergraduate students as representative of a larger number of Palauan students attending universities.
Field of study: does your major determine whether you even receive any piece of the pie, cake, tart, or cookie! The Ministry of Education may have preference over students whose field of studies are seen to benefit Palau. Hm! I really hope my home island values education!
Give me some money so I can come home to teach our kids to apply to more than one scholarship! Please!
OK. Here is the link to the Palau College Access Challenge Grant (CACG) from Palau's Ministry of Education if you want to find out a little more about the grant.
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