The Madhvani Foundation has been flooded with 1,700 applications for scholarships this year, a 25% increase from last year’s.

Last year, 175 students were sponsored, out of 1,459 applicants. If we assume that the same number will be sponsored this year, it means roughly one out of ten applicants will qualify. The foundation last month announced that it was allocating Shs 500 million to fund this year’s scholarships.

The chairman of the foundation’s scholarships committee, Henry Kyemba, said in an official statement on June 8: “The committee will start the rigorous process of selecting the final candidates for personal interviews due to be held from the third week of July at Makerere University. The list of shortlisted candidates along with the specific interview times will be available on the foundation website www.madhvanifoundation.com after the first week of July 2010.”

Assuring the applicants that the selection process is extremely transparent and fair, Kyemba warned them against any form of canvassing as this would lead to automatic disqualification.