Launching of the Quality Service charter in the Scholarships Section of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The Scholarships Section within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be launching its Quality Service Charter on 11th June 1999. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Justice, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Officer i/c of the Scholarships Section will be present amongst others.

From time to time, foreign governments and international organisations co-operate with the Maltese Government to assist in the development of those Maltese candidates who are interested in increasing their knowledge and prowess in a wide array of subjects and disciplines.

The success of these development programmes is dependent on the calibre and extent of participation of local candidates. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs seeks to widen the access by interested candidates to the scholarships tenable abroad which are offered to the Maltese Government.

With this in mind the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not only computerised the overall process of the Scholarships System, which has been operating within this Ministry since the late 1980s, but has also gone on-line earlier this year. This ensures the diffusion of the information available to as many Maltese students as possible.

By means of this Charter the Scholarships Section of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs not only commits itself to give an efficient and improved service, but also acts as a guide on how, where and when scholars can obtain information for further- studies abroad. Whilst interested candidates can call personally at the Scholarships Section for information, those who have access to internet are able to obtain the same information from the Ministry's website, from where students may also down load an application form and relevant details pertaining to the scholarship on offer from the comfort of their home.

Finally, the Quality Service Charter of the Scholarships Section is a commitment towards the public to maintain the standards of service expected from prospective scholarship beneficiaries, from the moment a scholarship is published to the final confirmation of award.

During the launch of the Quality Service Charter, the Charter Support Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister launched a Web Page about the Quality Service Charters. Through this web page the public can access information about the departments which have launched a Quality Service Charter and who are committing themselves to a high level of efficiency in order to offer better customer service to the public. The aim of this initiative is to enable the public to obtain information regarding the services that are available in the respective department through the internet. In this Web Page one can also find information about the Charters which have been launched to date, as well as information on how they have been drawn up. One can also obtain further information via e-mail.

The web page of the Charter Support Unit can be accessed on the Malta Government Network (MAGNET), address: http://www.magnet.mt/charters/index.html.