Asylum seekers are to be offered scholarship funding for the first time by a Scottish university.

Strathclyde University, in Glasgow, is offering financial support to up to three asylum seekers a year.

The fund, worth thousands of pounds, pays tuition fees and also provides a bursary of £2,000 to support the costs of studying.

It has been developed in partnership with the university's Students' Association and the Scottish Refugee Council.

Young asylum seekers are not usually eligible for student funding, meaning they face difficulties and delays in progressing to higher education while they await a Home Office decision.

The university believes the new initiative will enable talented students to bridge the gap between school and university as well as being able to study postgraduate qualifications.

One of the first students to be selected by Strathclyde is Angeline Mwafulirwa, 39, originally from Malawi, who has been in Scotland for eight years and now lives in Springburn.

Although still seeking asylum, she is now studying a postgraduate qualification in law which she hopes will help her provide support to other people in the same position.

She said: "I am delighted to get this financial support. It means so much because, apart from adding value to myself, I am also looking at benefiting the wider community.

"If I get the qualification I will be able to help other people with human rights issues. I do that already, but this will give me extra skills and expertise and, without the scholarship, I would not have had this chance."

Dr Veena O'Halloran, the university's director of student experience, said Strathclyde had a long history of breaking down barriers to education.

"Over the course of the past year, we have pioneered a range of innovative approaches to widen participation," she said.

"The Asylum Seeker Scholarships we are announcing underline our continuing commitment to recruitment based on merit.

"They form an important part of our commitment to increasing opportunities for people from a diverse range of backgrounds to promote the life-transforming experience that success at university can bring."

Roza Salih, vice-president of diversity at Strathclyde University's Students' Association, said she was "thrilled" with the bursaries.

She said: "This will create life-changing opportunities for those whose talents might otherwise have been wasted."

Ms Salih, from Kurdistan, was one of seven secondary school pupils whose 2005 campaign to raise awareness about asylum seekers' experiences inspired the hit musical the Glasgow Girls.

It led to the fifth and sixth-year pupils twice visiting the Scottish Parliament and winning Best Public Campaign at the Politician of the Year awards.

The new scholarship scheme was set up with the support and advice of the Scottish Refugee Council.

Elodie Mignard, the council's Integration Development Officer, said: "When people come to Scotland seeking safety and protection from persecution they bring a wealth of skills, talent and experience with them.

"We welcome the university's proactive stance in supporting asylum seekers to develop these skills further.

"Access to education is key to helping refugees successfully rebuild their and their families' lives here in Scotland."