The District Educational and Welfare Endowment Fund, an arm of the Rotary, District 9110, is exploring more avenues to increase the reach of its scholarship offers to indigent students.
The Chairman of the fund, Adeniji Raji, said this while presenting cheques to 22 beneficiaries of the scheme.
The beneficiaries comprising nine new recipients and 13 existing ones, were drawn from universities in Lagos and Ogun states. They received a cheque of N100,000 each.
Noting that the club would increase the number of recipients to 20 next year, Raji said the scheme, currently limited to university students, would be expanded to include students of polytechnics and colleges of education in coming years.
To achieve these, he said his team would engage corporate organisations and wealthy individuals on how they could key into the initiative.
He added that it was the responsibility of the privileged members of the society to support brilliant but indigent students to achieve their life dreams.
He noted, “As life is getting harder day-by-day, it is natural for human beings to disregard the needy and the impoverished. It is natural for us to continue with the business of life not doing enough for the deprived.”
He added that 10 beneficiaries of the fund had graduated with first class and second-class upper division since 2009 when the organisation started scholarship initiative.
Raji, who said the selection process was merit-driven, noted that family members of Rotarians were not eligible to apply for the scholarship.
The District Governor, Otunba Bola Onabadejo, lamented the high cost of education, saying there was no reason the government could not provide free education at all levels.
He said, “The challenge we have is that once people have had their problems solved, they relax. They forget what they passed through. But what we should do is to build a system that is of assistance to the government. That is what Rotary is doing.
The recipients are from the University of Lagos; Lagos State University, Ojo; Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State; Olabisi Onabanjo University and the National Open University of Nigeria.
A beneficiary and 200-level Biology student of NOUN, Onajoke Opeyemi, said the assistance would enable her parents to concentrate on her other siblings
Culled from PUNCH.
No comments:
Post a Comment