Government Confirms Overseas Scholarships Will Continue Despite Free UWI Tuition

The Government of Antigua and Barbuda says it will continue to offer scholarships for study overseas despite the introduction of free undergraduate tuition at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Five Islands Campus.

Responding to questions during Thursday’s post-Cabinet media briefing, Director of Communications in the Office of the Prime Minister Maurice Merchant said the government’s policy is to encourage students to take advantage of the free first-degree programme at UWI Five Islands whenever the desired course of study is available locally.

However, he made it clear that overseas scholarships remain available in certain circumstances.

“We do have a continuation of scholarships for individuals who may wish not to take up the free first-degree offer provided by the Government of Antigua and Barbuda to attend the University of the West Indies Five Islands Campus,” Merchant said.

He explained that government assistance for overseas studies is generally reserved for programmes that cannot be pursued in Antigua and Barbuda.
“Once they can be done locally, we do not provide assistance for it to be done internationally outside Antigua and Barbuda,” he said.

Merchant added that Antigua and Barbuda continues to benefit from scholarship opportunities offered by several international partners, including Morocco, China and India.

He revealed that scholarship places offered by China for the 2026-2027 academic year have already been filled, while applications continue to be processed for programmes offered by other countries.

Merchant acknowledged that the Scholarship Division experiences high demand, serving more than 2,000 students, which can sometimes make it difficult for applicants to get through to the department.

Despite those challenges, he encouraged prospective students to remain in contact with the division as new scholarship opportunities become available throughout the year.