Scholarship — A Statement for Soft Power
As we hear about the laurels of scholarship scheme like Erasmus +, Fulbright or New Colombo plan, one always question the reason for this kind of generosity. Is it that there is a genuine need to support such initiatives or is it a statement of the power play? Does the scholarship really go the needy and intended ones or its the biggest leak on modern funding era. Is the scholarship meant to achieve a political goal?
More and More developing countries are using the “Scholarship Tool” to attract the top minds and political scions from other countries to study & spend time in their universities. It enables them to build more respect and transparency in doing business with them. China for one is making a big push to create a statement of power with its announcement of 10000 scholarships under a government initiative. It is also seen that scholarships in the past have resulted in great benefits to nations. Ethiopian President Mulatu Teshome is one such example. Teshome studied in China for 12 years & graduated with a BA, MA, & Ph.D. in philosophy from Peking University, where he was a schoolmate of Chinese premier Li Keqiang, who studied law & economics there. The former president of Ethiopia, Negasso Gidada, reportedly said Teshome’s Chinese education played a role in informing the country’s reform policy.
According to scholarship reports,

Senator J. William Fulbright did have “soft diplomacy” in mind when he proposed the program in the ’40s. A fantastic Boston Globe story traces the Fulbright program’s ambiguous conception as “as a budget-priced megaphone to transmit American ideas to the world.” Fulbright’s idea — suffused with America’s new “towering self-confidence in its new role as global superpower” — was that his happy band of grantees would prove to their host nations how fabulous Americans and American ideals are.
Although scholarships are being thought of as a tool I feel participants don’t really think about it that way. For students its about immersing in new culture, experiencing it and then shadowing the experience to their peers. Is it time to rethink the model of scholarship and make it more accountable or should developing countries like India, China, and others use it as a tool to mark their progress and prosperity?
