MoU: Six sports scholarship are on offer at the Royal Thimphu College (RTC) following a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing between the Bhutan Olympic Committee (BOC) and the college yesterday.

The scholarship is divided into three categories- two each for football and basketball and two in the open category (other sports). The scholarship covers tuition fee for three years, meals and accommodation on triple sharing basis and medical facilities available at the RTC.

A total of 18 students will benefit over three years of the MoU. This is the second joint MoU signed between the organisations to help students pursue their tertiary education and at the same time be actively involved in sports.

BOC Secretary General, Sonam Karma Tshering said this was an initiative to keep talented sportsmen within the country and not lose them to international colleges. “Its also to change the mindset of those who think that there is no future in sports,” he said.

RTC Director, Tenzing Yonten said that once the students are admitted, they are well groomed in both academics and sports. “We are hopeful that these individuals will make a good leader in future,” he said.

Selection for the scholarship will be done jointly by the two organisations based on agreed criteria.

Currently two of the scholarship students play in the national football team of the country. Sonam Karma Tshering said that once the first batch of scholarship students’ graduate, some of them would be volunteering with the BOC.

The first batch of five students who received the RTC-BOC scholarship in 2012 will be graduating this spring. Applications for the academic year 2015 have opened and will close on March 20.

By Younten Tshedup