The Nation Newspaper

Tag: scholarship

  • Scholarship for pupils

    Scholarship for pupils

    AYouth Corps member serving in Cross River State, Kalu Amarachi, has awarded scholarship to two pupils of Salvation Army Secondary School in Calabar as part of her personal Community Development Service (CDS) projects.

    The recipients, Joy Asuquo and Daniel Eyang, got the awards after emerging overall best in their classes. The scholarship would cover their tuition throughout their primary education.

    Speaking to CAMPUSLIFE, Amarachi, a graduate of Anambra State University (ANSU) said the event was organised to fulfill one of the Millenium Deveopment Goals (MDGs), which encourages universal basic education , adding that the gesture was aimed at reducing the burden on parents.

    “I conducted an MDGs NEEDS assessment in the school and discovered that about 30 percent of the pupils were orphans and lack adequate financial resources to cater for their learning needs. Hence. I decided to take up the challenge of funding their primary education through this award of scholarship,” she stated.

    Other projects executed by the corps member during the event included the donation of MDGs branded notebooks and noodles to pupils. She also taught the kids proper handwashing skills.

    She said the projects were successful because of her partnership with telecommunications giant, Globacom, Ene Akojom Foundation, Junior Chamber International (JCI), among others.

    Headmistress of the school, Mrs Odo Bassey, thanked the corps member for the gesture.

  • Access Bank, customer in legal tussle over loss of varsity scholarship

    Access Bank PLC and one of its customers, Mr Abosede Olusola Zealot, are currently locked in a legal battle over the latter’s alleged forfeiture of a scholarship in a Canadian university last year.

    In the case before an Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan, the state capital, Mr Abosede is seeking a declaration that the bank was liable for his forfeiture of a full scholarship to study at the University of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada due to its alleged negligence in crediting his account with a deposit he made in February last year.

    He joined the cashier that received the deposit as a defendant in the suit.

    He also stated that the bank was liable for breach of contract by allegedly dishonouring a cheque he issued in favour of an insurance company towards the same admission.

    Abosede is seeking N4.5 million damages for losing the admission allegedly due to his bank’s negligence.

    In his statement of claim, Abosede explained that he maintains a joint current account with the Ojoo, Ibadan branch of the bank.

    According to him, he made a deposit of N12,000 into his account at the bank’s Bodija, Ibadan branch on February 28 last year with a clear explanation to the cashier that the sum was meant for an online payment of a non-refundable fee of $100 as application fee for the university having completed all other registration process. He added that the new deposit was to shore up a balance of N3,766 in the account to be able to pay for the said fee.

    He averred that he instructed the banker to credit his account without delay given  the fact that the deadline for the payment was March 1, 2012.

    Abosede said that the bank, however, failed to credit his account. He claimed that he went back to lodge the complaint severally before the deadline of the application process and that he was assured each time that his account would be credited but that the bank never fulfilled its obligation to him.

    Consequently, according to Abosede, he forfeited the admission and the scholarship to the university “despite the rigorous efforts and financial expenses made towards the application process.”

    Abosede averred further that he issued a cheque of N35,000 in favour of an insurance company to effect payment of a premium  in respect of a life insurance plan for his daughter but that the company returned the cheque on the excuse that his account was not funded whereas he had enough fund to defray the cost in his account.

    He said he had to withdraw cash from the same account to pay the insurance company to prove that the cheque was wrongfully returned.

    He wants the court to hold Access Bank liable for all the alleged negligence that led to his loss of the admission and full scholarship.

    The case has been adjourned till November 25.

     

  • Firm plans scholarship for studies in India

    The Oredian Education Resources Limited (OERL) has planned with her Indian partner institutions to offer $150,000 worth of scholarships to Nigerian students who wish to study in India.

    The scholarship, which is for the 2014 academic session, would be awarded to beneficiaries based on their performances in OERL study in India scholarship examination, said OERL Michael Adebayo.

    The scholarship, Adebayo stressed, would cover tuition fee only while students are to cater for other expenses.

    Adebayo said: “In the past four years, OERL has been at the forefront of Indian education in Nigeria as a veritabl alternative, recruiting nearly 1,000 students to Indian both on its yearly OERL scholarships and direct admission process.”

    Going down memory lane, he disclosed that OERL study in India scholarship scheme started in association with Indian Education Promotion Council (IEPC) in 2010 with 34 Nigerian students going to Saint Francis De-Sale College (University of Bangalore) and that the first sets of students graduated in June, this year. In 2012, 18 winners in various courses were offered and revealed that the exam was conducted by the National Business and Technical Examination Board (NABTEB).

    Ahead of the 2014 admission exercise which starts in June next year, Adebayo said the scholarship will have been available and distributed to winners in various courses as provided by the approving institutions.

    He said for the 2014 academic session, 101 scholarships would be available for grab.

    He added that the scholarship examination would hold on January 18 in Lagos, Abuja, Port-Harcourt, Kaduna, Warri, Jos and Ado Ekiti and information regarding the application is available on the OERL website – www.oredianeducation.com

    The OERL boss gave a breakdown of the available 101 scholarship based on the institutions as follows: Dayananda Sagar Institution, Bangalore 31, Saint Francis De-Sales College, Bangalore 40, Loyola Academic Degree College, Hydrabad 25 and Vels University, Chainnia five.

    Adebayo revealed that there are two types of scholarships for 2014, one, Academic- Based Scholarship (ABS) awarded to students based on performances in the OERL study in India scholarship examination. He said the ABS may be full, or one or two year programmes which are equally determined by students; performances in their examinations.

     

  • Shell hosts scholarship beneficiaries

    Over 14, 000 beneficiaries of scholarships of the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) have been hosted to a lavish party at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos.

    The event was the maiden edition of its Shell Scholars’Forum, which the organisers described as an opportunity for stocktaking.

    Going down memory lane, the managing director of SPDC, Mr Mutiu Sunmonu, said the history of the scholarship scheme predates Nigeria’s independence, when Shell first discovered oil in the Niger Delta region.

    He said: “In the area of education, the SPDC has contributed immensely to the development of the sector and Nigerians, through scholarship awards. This is not a new strategy. In fact, the scholarship awards commenced around the same time that Shell first discovered crude oil in Nigeria in the 1950s. At that time, the awards were mainly for science-based courses, which were tenable in institutions of higher learning both within and outside Nigeria. This created an opportunity for thousands of Nigerians to acquire and develop various skills and expertise needed for our national development.

    “Since its inception, there have been over 14,000 shell scholars. I am proud and honoured that many of them are present here today. These individuals have made significant contributions in their various endeavours and to the socio-economic development of this nation.”

    Sunmonu also said over the years, SDPC has expanded the scope of the scholarships to include Cradle-to-Career, a scheme that provides quality private secondary education scholarships to brilliant but indigent pupils from the Niger Delta region. He said the scheme received special recognition from the United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki Moon, for targeting children who may never have had the opportunity of a private education.

    Chairman of the occasion and former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon (rtd), said the modest contributions of SPDC to the development of human capital has paid off with the increasing number of well-trained Nigerians who occupy positions of authority in practically every sphere of life.

    He said: “What I find quite interesting about this event is the intriguing nature of the SPDC initiative: first, Shell picked some of the brightest and best of Nigerian talents and offered them a platform to meet the challenges of nation building. Next, the beneficiaries excelled in their various fields of human endeavour and have become what, in Nigeria, we call ‘Big Men’. Now, shell is bringing all the big and old people and the young people together under a network to respond to a call to give back to society.”

    Director and Country Representative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), Prof Hassana Alidou, delivered the keynote address: Elaborating a post-2015 education strategy:Touching the unreached.

    Those who received awards include His Royal Majesty Edmund Daukoru, Funsho Kupolukun, Mr Greg Ogbeifun and Mr Basil Omiyi.

     

  • N37m largesse lifts Katsina students

    N37m largesse lifts Katsina students

    A N37m lifeline has changed the fortunes of 104 indigents students in Katsina State.

    A former Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF)  Mr. Muttaqha Rabe Darma, an engineer, provided the money in order to enhance the education of some of the state’s financially challenged students.

    While stating his reasons for instituting “Partnership for Alleviation of Poverty Initiative,” under which he runs his charity foundation, Darma narrated a grim story, revealing the pathetic life of his primary school academic rival.

    Darma said his primary school classmate who was always second whenever he (Darma) was first, earned a living from digging graves because there was no one to fund his tertiary institution.

    His words: “The second motivation is that when I was in primary school, as far as I could recall from my Primary School One to Six, I was always taking the first position in the class. But then there was someone taking second position in the same class.

    “We were in the same class from Primary One to Primary Six, when we left primary school, that person was lucky to get to secondary school in Wusasa, Zaria. But I would say I was not too lucky to get a boarding school, I got Day Secondary School here in Katsina.

    “I saw this my friend who was always taking second position recently. Do you know what he is doing: grave digging. He digs graves for the dead to be buried. I asked him what happened and he told me all sorts of stories and I then realised that no matter how good one is if you don’t give him a helping hand, that person could be the worst person.”

    Presenting N11.5 million cheques at Mariamoh Ajiri Memorial International Schools, Katsina to some private schools in Katsina State for 2013/2014 for the first and second terms school fees under his scholarship scheme, he noted that the best gift an individual or government can present to a child is access to education.

    He described education as a responsibility that must not be left to only government to discharge, urging well-meaning Nigerians to intervene in the educational development of children.

    On the scholarship, Darma said he started it three years ago, meaning to extend it to 29 local governments in the state.

    He said: “It is my belief that some students from poor families, if given a chance and better learning environment, can perform much better than the children of the rich”.

    Asked to state the source of his fund for the scholarship scheme, he said while in office, he commenced the initiative with the belief that 60% of his income should go back to the society. Darma added that he has been spending his pension fund and monetisation benefits on the charity initiative.

    Chairman of the event Senator Umar Tsauri said it is very unusual to have people like Darma in our present setting where most people think of their immediate family alone.

    He said Katsina currently is blessed with two people, the state governor Ibrahim Shema who is a champion of development and Muttaqha Darma an exponent of people’s emancipation.

    He urged the students to utilise the opportunity provided to them by passing studying hard and their examinations with good grades.

    Representative of the schools and proprietor of Mariamo Ajiri International Schools, Alhaji Tajuddeen Babatunde Raji urged the public to assist in educating poor children.

    He said some families who can barely afford to feed their children consider education a luxury.

  • Lad gets N165,000 lifeline scholarship

    Lad gets N165,000 lifeline scholarship

    The N165,000 lifeline offered by the Class 47 alumni of the Senior Management Programme, (SMP), Lagos Business School, (LBS), Ajah, has brightened the prospects of James Aninyem, an SSI pupil of the Ansar-ud-deen Grammar School, Surulere, Lagos.

    The SMP’s Class 47 goodwill will run for three consecutive years, and would see the lad complete his secondary education.

    Its members presented James with a N165,000 cheque which covers this session’s tuition fees at the school hall last Friday.

    James, 13, is the second child of three siblings. The trio lost their father when he was barely four years.

    The responsibility of their education then fell on their aunt Tonia, who brought James and Kanayo to Lagos leaving their youngest sibling in the remote Anucha local government area in Delta State.

    But bearing the financial burden has not been easy for Tonia. She was in tears as she spoke of the relief the SMP’s gesture has brought her. With the burden greatly lightened, she said she can now consider marriage, which hitherto she had to sacrifice to help her nephews succeed.

    Tonia recounted how she first worked in a factory for a paltry N22,650 every month, and now as a waitress for N25, 000 monthly which she spent on her nephews’ education.

    She said a friend introduced her to Ansa-ud-Deen Grammar School when she sought a good and affordable school.

    “When they got admission, I went to the school and told them about my situation. They took pity on me and allowed me to pay as low as N1,000 sometimes,” she said.

    However, when the fees rose to N165,000, Tonia considered withdrawing James as she could not afford the fees.

    That was when the principal Mr Habeeb Adeniran, intervened. He said the school would have missed James’ mental and sporting skills if he was withdrawn.

    He said: “James is an intelligent boy. He is very studious, hardworking and always ready to learn. He had distinction in 14 subjects in the Lagos State Junior Secondary School Certificate Examination, with another two As and six credits in his NECO junior examinations. He represents the school in many sports competition and brings us victory.”

    In his own remarks, the Chairman Project Committee, SMP Class 47, Mr Thomas Ezeh who is an old boy of the school recalled how it all happened.

    He said: “We came to Ansa-ud-Deen and found James; and because we look for those who are good academically and in sports we decided to pick him. We were touched especially when we heard that his sister was about withdrawing him from the school.

    President, SMP Class 47, Mr Ubong King, said members noted that many parents cannot afford to send their children to good schools with moderate tution; hence they are taking upon themselves to support the less privileged.

     

  • 10 youths get lawmaker’s scholarship

    Ten youths of Andoni-Opobo/Nkoro Federal Constituency of Rivers State who qualified for the 2013/2014 edition of Dakuku Peterside’s annual overseas post -graduate course for members of the constituency are due for travel this week.

    This was disclosed at the award /sent forth ceremony held in their honour by members of Andoni-Opobo/Nkoro Economic Zone Development Foundation in Port Harcourt, the state capital.

    The beneficiaries are Pepple Victor Festus, Ngerebara Hope Owajiokiche, Ofik Tana Nden and Harry Zipporah Dunotio.

    Others are Utong Barth Abraham, Pepple Hanson Monday, Oko-Jaja Opuada, Awortu Raymond Charles, Ogbilikana Prince Sampson and Bell-Gam Daniel Soibi.

    They are to study courses on engineering, ICT, health, environmental management and law at the University of Bedfordshire, University of Aberdeen and Kingston University all in the United Kingdom.

    Admissions have already been secured for them and they are expected to leave the country for their schools between this week and next week.

    Five beneficiaries were said to have emerged from each of the two local government areas of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro that make up the Andoni-Opobo/Nkoro Federal Constituency after a keenly contested pre-selection tests held for the award which is the second edition of the award.

    The first set of 10 who travelled last year is yet to complete their studies.

    It was gathered that 400 graduates from the constituency applied for the award. 35 people emerged after the first test, and later the winners.

    Peterside, the convener and representative of the constituency in the Federal House of Representatives, urged the beneficiaries to be focused and hard working.

    He reiterated that the programme would outlive him, even as he disclosed the plan to extend it to 40 youths of the constituency that would like to study in universities within the country from the next edition.

    “Ten of you today are our ambassadors. You are the embodiment of our values, respect for elders, fear of God; respect for one another, hard work and diligence. These are all the values for which the Andoni man, Opobo/Nkoro man is known for that you are carrying to the UK.

    “As they see you, they see the people of Andoni Opobo/Nkoro. As they see you, they see the future that lies ahead of us. You cannot afford to betray this trust.

    “I appeal to all of you to know that we are sending you out so that when you come back here, you are coming to impact on our society,” he stated.

    The beneficiaries promised to put in their best to justify the confidence reposed in them.

  • Pan-Atlantic varsity woos undergraduates with scholarship

    Up to 15 per cent of students admitted into the undergraduate programmes of the Pan-Atlantic University (PAU), Lekki, Lagos which starts in the 2014/2015 academic session may enjoy full or partial scholarships, it was learnt last Thursday.

    Manager, External Relations, Dr Chidi Nwagu said at a briefing to announce the full-fledged status of the university, which has hitherto provided only postgraduate training in the past 11 years, that the university has proposed the percentage and would seek endowment from willing private partners towards funding the scholarship scheme.

    The Registrar, Mrs Rosemary Okolo added that indigent students from the host community in Ibeju-Lekki, where the university is developing its 100-hectare campus, would be on the priority list of candidates to be considered for the scholarship.

    She explained that the scheme is to ensure that brilliant and qualified students can get quality education at the university and urged potential students to apply when the time comes, regardless of their socio-economic background.

    She said: “Quality education is necessarily expensive, but we would not want it to be out of the reach of deserving young men and women who have proved their readiness to work hard in order to advance their education. With the help of many benefactors who identity with Pan-Atlantic University, we will offer a significant number of scholarships every year. We encourage students who have a good record of academic achievement to talk to us, even if they think they cannot afford our fees.”

    The university is starting undergraduate programmes in two schools, business and communications, areas where it has developed expertise training professionals and executives at postgraduate level and established relationship with relevant industry partners.

    Deputy Dean, School of Business Administration (SBA), Prof Chantal Epie said the school is prepared to offer BSc programmes in Business Administration, Accountancy given the university’s strength in business.

    She added that in future, programmes such as Banking and Finance, Industrial Relations and Personnel Management, as well as marketing will come up.

    While the School of Media and Communications (SMC) will start with Mass Communication as its sole programme next session, its Dean, Prof Emevwo Biakolo said Information Science and Media Studies, and various options combined with Mass Communication, will come on board from 2015.

     

     

    By the time the university admits its first set of undergraduate students next session Dr Nwagu said the academic complex, two hostels and a students’ centre funded by the FCMB will already be in place.

     

  • NLNG awards 10 PG scholarship

    NLNG awards 10 PG scholarship

    The Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) has announced the award of scholarships to 10 Nigerian students to study various courses in top universities in the United Kingdom under its Post-graduate Scholarship Scheme.

    The NLNG Post-graduate Scholarship Scheme, launched in October last year, is funded by NLNG and managed by the British Council – an internationally-recognised service provider in the area of scholarship management and partnership brokerage in higher education.

    In a statement in Port Harcourt, the firm said the scholarship covers tuition, accommodation, living expenses, travel and other issues.

    The 10 pioneer candidates for the scheme were selected from a total of 1,665 applications.

    The criteria for selection included the course of study, which is restricted to programmes in Engineering, Geosciences, Environmental Studies, Management Sciences, Information Technology, Law and Medicine at Masters Level, possession of a second Class Upper minimum degree and successful completion of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme.

    The British Council said the 10 scholars, who will be unveiled at a public ceremony in Port Harcourt on September 10, have received pre-departure orientation ahead of their departure from the country this month.

     

  • Kano spends N1b on bilingual students’ scholarship

    A hundred and one students of Kano State origin yesterday departed for Niamey, the capital of Niger Republic, for bilingual studies.

    The Kano State government will spend N1 billion as scholarship for the students of the newly established Kano/Niger Bilingual College.

    Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso spoke on the scholarship when he presented the admission letters to the students in Kano ahead of their flight.

    The governor said his administration was collaborating with Niger Republic on the programme to strengthen the bilateral relations between them.

    According to him, the state government has earmarked N1 billion for the establishment and construction of the first phase of the college, which has modern facilities for the students.

    Kwankwaso explained that the college would also boost the unity between Nigeria and Niger and enable the students to understand French.

    The governor said 100 of the students are from Kano and another 100 from Niger Republic.

    According to him, in the next six years, over 1,400 students would have been admitted to the college.

    He said the first batch of 100 students was departing for Niger Republic yesterday, adding that the state government would pay their full scholarship for the duration of their studies.

    Kwankwaso said the state government was sponsoring the programme to improve the standard of education.

    The governor expressed joy that the 501 Kano State students studying in various universities overseas were performing above average.

    He described the development as encouraging.

    The Niger Republic’s Minister of Education, Madame Maryam Iibrahim, noted that the educational tie between Kano and her country would further enhance unity, understanding and cordial relationship.