The breakdown of beneficiaries showed that 97 students of higher institutions and 171 students from secondary schools in various towns as Omu Aran, Eleyin, Ajase, Ilale, Oko, Oro among others, benefited.
Speaking during presentation of scholarship awards to the beneficiaries in Omu Aran, the founder of the organisation, Engineer Sunday Babalola, said that the scheme is aimed at complementing government efforts at boosting quality of education in the area.
Engineer Babalola said that, aside this year’s beneficiaries, a total of 545 students, comprising 194 students in tertiary institutions and 351 students in secondary schools, had benefited from the scholarship scheme since maiden edition in 2015.
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“In this year’s edition, a sum of N5 million will go directly to the beneficiaries, while we have invested N17 million directly to the beneficiaries, who are mainly students and pupils from indigent homes in our local government, since the scheme took off.
The founder, who said that the need to provide quality, affordable and accessible education could not be overemphasised, added that it is only a nation with pool of educated, knowledgeable workforce and enterprising people that can develop.
“These investments are part of our humble contributions to assist in boosting quality of education and making it accessible to indigent students, who otherwise would have had to continue their studies but may have had to drop out. It is also our humble contribution to the educational development in Kwara state. Our scholarship scheme is also geared towards accelerating human capital development as well as prevent young people who are blessed with incredible energies and potential from being lured and used as tools for violence, prostitution and other crimes”, he said.
Engineer Babalola also said that teachers and other personnel in the education sector of the national value chain should be well motivated through timely training and adequate remuneration to engender impartation of quality information and skills in students and pupils in the state.
“It is therefore, disheartening to hear about the increasing complaints of degrading environment as pupils in Kwara state are said to be studying in dilapidated classrooms which expose them to dangers and make education unattractive. There are also complaints that instuctional materials, notebooks and textbooks, registers as well as other requirements and logistics are not provided in our schools.
“It is sad and worrisome that teachers are being owed many months of salary arrears. Recently, some teachers of primary and secondary schools in the state protested and threatened not to resume academic activities as they claimed that they are being owed salary arrears of many month”, he said.
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