Washington (dpa-AfX)-The US board of the traditional Fulbright scholarship program has recovered in protest against the government of the government of US President Donald Trump. The government had undermined the authority of the twelve -member body and denied the promotion and candidates, which had already been selected, said in a statement by the former board. 1,200 other applicants were also transferred to an “non -authorized test procedure”. This is an “unprecedented” process.
Fulbright is an international exchange and scholarship program for students, researchers and teachers funded by the US government. It was launched in 1946 by US Senator J. William Fulbright. There is also a lively exchange with Germany.
The members of the US board – the so -called Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board – are appointed by the President. According to US media, all members who have now resigned were appointed by Trump’s democratic predecessor Joe Biden.
The committee was used by the congress to decide independently about the selection of scholarship holders. It has the last word by law. This right was disregarded by Trump’s government, the committee criticized. This contradicts the order of the program and “the values anchored in it such as freedom of expression and academic freedom”. Research projects in fields such as biology, architecture, medicine, history and music sciences are affected by the canceled commitments.