The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) scholarship programme recognizes Indian students who have good academic qualities and participate in extracurricular activities like community service. There was a 92 percent increase in the number of applications received for the programme this year compared to last year, said a statement from ETS.
One scholarship worth US$10,000 and 20 scholarships each valued at US$3,000 are awarded to Indian students who want to pursue undergraduate or graduate studies in any of the 8,500 institutions in more than 130 countries that accept the TOEFL test scores.
Among this year's winners, nine will pursue undergraduate studies and the others will join postgraduate courses. The winners include students from Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Jamshedpur, Mangalore, Mumbai, Noida and Pune.
"Over the past four years, ETS has awarded US$240,000 to assist TOEFL test takers in India to further support their undergraduate or graduate studies. Through our scholarship program, educational resources and learning activities, ETS continues to demonstrate our commitment to advancing educational opportunities for students from India," said Daniel Wakeman, vice president and chief information officer of the ETS.
The students were evaluated based on their English communication skills, academic record, leadership skills and extracurricular activities.