Are the procedures of recruiting and selecting developing countries' officials for scholarship programs fair?: The examination of the KOICA Master's degree program

Abstract

This study examines the fairness of recruitment and selection procedures of participants from the KOICA (Korea International Cooperation Agency) Master's degree scholarship program (SP) from the perspective of development ethics, using Amartya Sen's capability approach as a framework. This study first finds the neglected personal, social and environmental conversion factors and then finds how this neglect is consequently reflected in the design of selection procedures and finally how the procedures result in unfair practices. The focus group interview was conducted with 17 participants from 14 countries, and KOICA guidelines were reviewed. The result shows that the SP is guilty of unfair practices resulting from the neglecting of conversion factors, which are corruption, bureaucracy, gender bias, English competencies of officials, geographical location, socio-economic status, and working conditions.