Thai government revives ODOS scholarship programme

The ODOS programme was originally established in 2003-04 by the Thai (Thaksin) Government, aiming at providing scholarships for excellent students from disadvantaged families from the rural areas, who cannot afford to further their study at tertiary level. It was terminated after the political changes resulting from the military coup in 2006.

In 2012 the ODOS programme was revived by the current Thai government, and the Office of the Civil Service Commission (OCSC) contacted Nuffic Neso Thailand for assistance and support for enrolling ODOS students at Dutch universities. The programme is now open for students from the whole country. Furthermore, students who passed the selection test and are awarded the ODOS scholarship are also allowed to study in any other country provided the courses are in the English language.

High number of ODOS graduates in the Netherlands

From the first two batches of students selected by the government from 900 applicants for the 2012-13 academic year, 59 ODOS students chose to study in the Netherlands. The OCSC is very content with the Netherlands as a study destination due to the excellent results of the previous Thai ODOS students. Most ODOS students in the Netherlands graduated and the graduate number is higher (in %) compared to other recipient countries. The Thai Government has allocated about seven billion Thai baht (€ 175 million) until 2019 for the ODOS programme.

The OCSC will issue a financial statement to recipient governments and institutions abroad confirming that the ODOS students will receive a scholarship for the duration of seven years, including a longer preparation or foundation course if required.