The Madhivani Foundation has launched a Shs500m annual scholarship fund. The funds will start being disbursed to needy but brilliant students this year. Foundation official, Mr Henry Kyemba (right) said the fund aims to bridge the gap created by the ever reducing government scholarships for university education. "The recent policy adopted by government has seen the redirection of funding in the education sector towards primary and secondary learning. As a result, the number of government sponsored students at the universities has dramatically reduced," Mr Kyemba, who chairs the Foundation's scholarship committee said. Madhivani Foundation set up the university education trust in 2003 with the aim of promoting scientific and technical education. The project has educated 540 university students and disbursed scholarships worth over Shs1.3 billion. "The scholarships have been made available for second year students all over Uganda. The move is to ensure commitment of needy students who are academically upright," Mr Kyemba, who was flanked by Ms Susan Akello a former recipient of the foundation grant emphasised. "We are looking for talented Ugandan students, both undergraduates and post graduates, of sound character who are facing difficulties in paying for their studies," he added. He said the selection process itself will be very stringent yet transparent. Application forms for the scholarships can be downloaded from the foundation website or be collected from the Muljibhai Madhivani building on Jinja Road, Kampala. The closing date for submissions of completed forms is May 31,2009.