ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 24, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Dr. Appu Kuttan, Chairman of the National Education Foundation (NEF), announced today a nationwide initiative to provide ``recession relief'' scholarships for its CyberLearning program to a million low and middle income individuals affected by current economic challenges -- or those simply wanting to excel further in the workplace.

The One Million Scholarships Program offers subsidized high quality web-based courses (includes 30 certifications) in IT, business, test-prep, math, science and technology education. The curriculum packages, each containing 100-400 courses and valued individually at $400-$800, are fully subsidized by the Foundation scholarships. The Foundation courses provide new or improved skills or prep for certifications in Microsoft, Cisco, Adobe, CompTia, Oracle, Office Applications, networking, programming, web design, project management, etc. The course catalog contains 3,000 courses.

``Fear of recession is forcing individuals, especially those at low and middle incomes, small businesses and others, to cut back on training, which is normally expensive. At the same time, the U.S. Labor Department is predicting a shortage of two million IT workers by 2010. An obvious solution is to make job skills training affordable to our low and middle income individuals. That is the rationale for this important initiative,'' noted Dr. Kuttan, a worldwide leader in bridging the digital divide.

``With tough economic times upon us, the timing could not be better,'' noted Dr. Kuttan. The courses are available immediately.

To apply for these ``recession relief'' scholarships and begin learning in a minute, visit http://www.nefusa.org/scholarships

About National Education Foundation

National Education Foundation, headquartered in metropolitan Washington, DC, is the world's leading non-profit organization bridging the digital and academic divides through online education. Its premier project, CyberLearning, provides IT, business, digital literacy, test prep, math and science education to millions in many countries including the U.S., India, Egypt, Jordan, and Mauritius. http://www.nefusa.org

The National Education Foundation logo is available at http://www.primenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=5186

          NEF Communications 
          Claudia Kay, VP
          703-823-9999
          ckay@nefusa.org