By Philip Yatai

Some indigent students in FCT public secondary schools have commended the University of Lagos Alumni Association for giving them the opportunity to finish school through scholarship awards.

They gave the commendation during the awards ceremony, organised by the association in collaboration with the Education Secretariat, FCT Administration, in Abuja on Monday.

One of them, Abdulhamid Mubarak, a Senior Secondary II student of Government Secondary School, Kuje, described the gesture as a life changer.

Mubarak, a son of a schoolteacher, said that his parents struggle to pay his school fees every term, adding that he had to do some menial job to support his parents to pay for the fees.

“Sometimes I work in farms, sometimes at construction sites or some form of hard labour just to raise money to help my parents pay for my school fees.

“But now all the struggles are over.  With this scholarship, I’ll complete my secondary education with confidence.

“In feeling so happy and I want to say that the alumni association will be proud of me later in the future,” he said.

The story was no different for Grace Dantani, an SS II student of Government Day Secondary School, Bwari, who said she was never sure of graduating until now.

Dantani said her father is a bricklayer, added that the job comes once in a while, a trend which made it difficult for him to pay her school fees.

“Honestly, we feel so happy, and we are rejoicing for the scholarship support.

“Many of us were not sure whether we are going to write the West African Examination Council (WAEC) with our fellow students, but because of the scholarship support, we are confident we will graduate,” she said.

Earlier, the Chairman, Scholarship Committee of the association, Dr Emmanuel Ibe, said that 24 students selected from six public secondary schools would benefit from the gesture.

Ibe said that one secondary school was selected in each of the six Area Councils of the FCT.

He said the association would disbursed N2.5 million under the bursary award, adding that each of the 24 students would receive over N100,000 to cover tuition fee for six terms.

Ibe also said the scholarship would also cover the students’ WAEC and National Examination Council registration fees.

The association Chairman in FCT, Aliu Akoshile, said the goal of the scholarship was to impact on the society,

Akoshile said the decision to support the indigent students was influenced by the need to give opportunities to children from poor households to grow academically and socially.

Similarly, the President of the association, Worldwide, Dr Ifeoluwa Oyedele, said that the support was part of the group’s commitment to ensure that, ‘no one is left behind’.

On his part, the Mandate Secretary, Education Secretariat, FCT Administration, Dr Danlami Hayyo, thanked the group for the support, which he described as encouraging.

“This is what we are expecting from so many people. People that have enough should contribute to the education sector, especially in provision of infrastructure, scholarship, and other needs.

“This is because the government cannot fund education 100 per cent.

“We wish other people would emulate what the Lagos Alumni Association is doing in the education sector,” Hayyo said. (NAN)

Edited by Rabiu Sani-Ali