A non-governmental organisation, Connak Foundation, has awarded full scholarship to 100 students in Junior Secondary Schools within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), as one of the initiatives to mark its 10th anniversary.
The beneficiaries are students from nine public Junior Secondary Schools across the six area councils, selected through the Stay-In-School Programme of the NGO, as approved by the FCT Universal Basic Education Board (FCT UBEB) management.
According to a statement issued by the chief executive officer of the foundation, Mrs Carol Emeka Sunday, the scholarship programme is one of five thematic areas through which the organisation promotes sustainable development and global citizenship.
She said the initiative, which was launched in 2012, with only 10 students, currently had about 300 beneficiary students enrolled in the scheme, spanning both secondary and tertiary education levels.
“This laudable effort of the foundation follows the vision of the founder, Mr. Ken Nnamdi Ukeagu: to provide humanitarian support to the people that need it the most and build capacity to improve economic outcomes.
“The foundation’s aim is to promote educational development within low-income communities and increase literacy and numeracy skills of indigent children. The ‘Stay-In-School’ initiative would ease the financial burden of accessing basic education faced by students from low-income families, by providing financial support needed to guarantee their continuous learning and educational development.
“With the present economic downturn, many indigent families are unable to cope with the cost for basic education, thus putting school-age children at risk of dropping out.
“The ‘Stay-InSchool’ initiative contributes to the global action in education for sustainable development, promotes lifelong learning opportunities, and reduces the number of school-age children dropping out of school.
“The pilot phase of the program carried out in FCT had the approval of the Universal Basic Education Board (FCT UBEB). For the pioneer 100 beneficiaries of the program, one would consider them most fortunate as the Foundation paid up all outstanding debts at their various schools, disbursed funds to cover fees for the current academic session and provided needed educational materials to keep them in school.
“The full scholarship package covers all school charges and sundry fees, and provides educational materials such as textbooks, notebooks, uniform, socks, sandals, and school bags). In addition, the boarding fees for eight (8) visually impaired students at the Junior Secondary School, Kwali were also paid”, the statement said.
The scholarship award was presented to the beneficiaries at their schools, to the delight of their parents who expressed appreciation to Connak Foundation for the timely intervention.
