Student Resistance: MASH is once again hitting students in the pocket, this time through scholarships

The Ministry of Education and Science (MASH) announced a call for applications a few days ago for 3,000 student scholarships for the 2026/2027 academic year. The Student Resistance initiative says that, rather than expanding support, the ministry is merely changing how the scholarships are distributed.

According to the initiative, MASH has changed the scholarship categories this year, creating a new category of 1,050 “strategic” scholarships for studies of “special importance to the country’s future development.” These cover mathematics, physics, chemistry, agriculture, forestry, biology education and mining. The strategic scholarships are worth 18,000 denars, while the other scholarships are worth 6,050 denars.

Although the overall number remains 3,000 scholarships, students in programs not classified as “strategic” can apply only in the high-achievement category. That category has 750 places and requires an average grade of at least 8.50. In its response, Student Resistance says this makes competition much tougher, while no separate categories are provided for other programs and their students have no guarantee of receiving a scholarship.

The initiative describes the redistribution as follows: 270 scholarships are taken from the “social categories” group, 520 from the “high achievement (general category)” group and 130 from the “information, languages, teaching staff” group. The “strategic” group gains 920 scholarships.