Enugu Govt Facilitates Foreign Scholarship For 28 Students

 

Enugu State Scholarship Board has secured fully-funded scholarships for 28 persons to undertake post graduate programme in Europe and America.

Executive Secretary of the Enugu State Scholarship Board, Barr. Levi Abonyi, disclosed that the scholarship mentorship programme was designed and developed by the Board to expose Enugu students to available funding opportunities around the world, in line with Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi administration’s youth empowerment scheme.
Barr. Abonyi stated this when he led some of the beneficiaries who are indigenes of the state to the Enugu Government House on Friday, to thank the governor for the opportunity.

Abonyi revealed that the scholarship programme was approved by the State Executive Council, adding that the programme has produced 46 fully-funded Masters and PhD students from the state.

It would be recalled that the first batch of the programme launched in October 2020 had 18 Enugu State indigenes as beneficiaries.

The Executive Secretary explained that the scheme prepares fresh graduates to enroll directly into PhD programmes without first obtaining a Masters Degree.

“The goal is to produce a generation of intellectuals who will be better equipped to turn the state around economically and who will be better disposed to compete favourably globally,” Abonyi added.

He further said the state government “pays the six scholarship mentors monthly allowances as honorarium for their services, takes care of the cost of Visa, flight tickets, initial living expenses and other logistics of all successful students at the cost of N1 million, and it comes in as a guarantor for the issuance of Visas to the benefiting students”

Expressing gratitude to Governor Ugwuanyi on behalf of the beneficiaries, Lilian Chinenye Ekowo, who will be travelling to the University of Notre Dem, United States of America, thanked the governor for availing them the opportunity to benefit from the scholarship board, disclosing that “Today, each one of us was awarded the scholarship of One million naira travelling expenses,” Ekowo stated.

Another beneficiary, Mathias Chukwudi Isiani, appreciated the governor for his commitment to youth empowerment and education.

He advised other young people to develop interest in the programme to improve on their academic careers.

On his part, one of the 18 beneficiaries of the first batch of the scholarship mentorship programme in 2020, Odinaka Kingsley Eze, who graduated from University of Mississippi, USA, expressed delight saying, “this mentorship programme has up to 46 ambassadors. All thanks to His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Lawrence Ugwuanyi for the opportunity”.

He added that the experience is quite revealing and enriching in terms of academics and research.

Speaking on behalf of the Mentors, the Coordinator, Enugu State Mentorship Programme, Dr. Kelechi Ugwuanyi pointed out that more Enugu indigenes will benefit from the programme in no distance time, stressing that “this mentorship programme under Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi’s administration is focused on raising the next leaders of this state”.

According to him, “Our target is that before His Excellency (Ugwuanyi) finishes his tenure, we must have close to fifty or one hundred beneficiaries across the world. I am happy to say that today we have a spread of ambassadors in USA, Canada, Japan, Netherland, Egypt, China and Czech Republic.

“One interesting aspect of this is that His Excellency did not only constitute this programme, but also promised that each and every one of these Mentees who made it through the process is going to receive the sum of N1 million to support these persons’ flight ticket, Visa application and other logistics associated with their travelling.

“The governor made it possible and I am happy to say that they are all holding their cheques and some of them will be leaving this weekend and next week.

“We thank Gov. Ugwuanyi for giving us this opportunity to work for the state and encourage the young ones to be able to go to different countries of the world to study. And we hope that they will come back to put in their best in the economy and development of the state”.