BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

ONLINE applications can now be made to study at local higher education institutions, as well as government scholarships to study overseas via the Higher Education Centralised Admission System (HECAS) 2014.

Applicants who are interested in applying for Diploma in Health Science, advanced diploma, higher national diploma, foundation degree, or first degree programmes for the academic year 2014/2015, are able to start their online application at _hecas.edu.bn _today, from 8am onwards.

According to a Ministry of Education statement, those who wish to apply for overseas scholarships must also apply for at least one programme offered by local higher education institutions - Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali, Institut Teknologi Brunei, and Politeknik Brunei.

Applicants are only allowed to select a maximum of two programmes from each of the local tertiary institutions, or for an overseas scholarship.

However, the total maximum number of programmes that applicants can select is six. Applicants are advised to apply only to programmes which are relevant to their qualifications.

Different fees will be charged for the applications, according to the number of programmes selected by an applicant.

Although HECAS can be used by holders of valid Brunei identity cards (yellow, red and green), only citizens of Brunei who score at least a ‘credit’ in the Malay language in their Cambridge O level examinations will be able to apply for government scholarships - local or overseas.

HECAS does not process applications of civil servants who are applying for in-service training.

The closing date for this first round of HECAS 2014 online applications will be on March 18, 4.30pm. The final day for applicants to submit all relevant hard copy documents including printed HECAS forms to institutions concerned is March 22.

Applicants can contact the Admission Office of the respective higher education institutions or the MoE Scholarship Section for more information on application procedures or related issues.

Applicants can also visit designated HECAS sites for further assistance: Duli Pg Muda Al-Muhtadee Billah College, Sayyidina Othman Secondary School in Tutong, Sayyidina Ali Secondary School in Belait, and Sultan Hassan Secondary School in Temburong.

The ministry also stated that education institutions and the MoE Scholarship Section reserve the right to reject applications which are incomplete, contain false information, or received after the HECAS closing date.

The Brunei Times