Government of Huizhou and Hua Luo Geng Secondary School Grant WST 600,000 for the Guangdong Huizhou Friendship Scholarship Program in Samoa

In 2015, an “Agreement on Scholarship and Donation of Teaching Equipment to Samoa from Huizhou” was signed between Samoa and the Huizhou Municipal People’s Government of Guangdong Province, China.

Per the agreement, the Municipal Government of Huizhou and the Hua Luo Geng Secondary School donated Samoan tālā (WST) 600,000 to the "Guangdong Huizhou Friendship Scholarship Program." 50+ scholarships were provided per year to cover school fees for students at Samoa College.

Roughly half of the scholarships were awarded for academic excellence and the other half for students from families with financial disadvantages.

According to the 2017-18 Approved Estimates, 332,406 Samoan Talas** were transferred from the Municipal Government of Huizhou to Samoa’s Ministry of Education, Sport, and Culture to start the project in 2017.

According to the 2018-19 Approved Estimates, the cash grant assistance for this project decreased to 117,206 Samoan talas.

The project ran for three years (costing approximately 200,000 WST per year), and was expected to benefit around 550 students in total. The project was completed in 2019.

It is implied, however, that the program was extended, because the Samoan Estimate of Receipts and Payments for FY 2020-2021 marks WST 80,926 was spent on the program.