Peter Okoye, PBA Journalism MenteePharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Kwara State Chapter, recently awarded Four Hundred thousand naira, (N400, 000) in grants to six beneficiaries of its Educational Grant Scheme.
The scheme was instituted to empower pharmacists in the state who are currently enrolled in Masters, PhD and Fellowship programmes.
The PSN secretary in the state, Pharm. Munirat Kikelomo Bello, revealed that the recipients of the Third Edition of the Educational Grant Scheme were presented with their cheques recently during the PSN monthly meeting held at the secretariat.
In his speech, the Chairman, of Kwara State PSN, Pharm. Juwon Otelaja noted that the scheme was instituted by his administration, to support Kwara pharmacists that are currently enrolled in different Masters programmes and the Fellowship of the West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists (WAPCP), as a way of encouraging them to aspire to build their capacities and to take up more professional challenges.
He added that the successful candidates were selected after a thorough screening process by a committee headed by Dr (Mrs) Rashidat Ayanniyi, a past Dean of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Ilorin and other seasoned academics and fellows of WAPCP.
While presenting the cheques to the beneficiaries, Otelaja noted that the presentation was the third edition under his administration, adding that adequate funding was necessary for continuous growth as well as stability of the healthcare sector.
“In this third edition of the scheme, four candidates at WAPCP received N75, 000 while two masters’ students received N50, 000,” he said.
In her reaction, Dr Ayanniyi, chairman of the Screening Committee, said that the selection process was open and transparent, adding that the six recipients were the best and were considered.
She further stated that the innovation of supporting practitioners in the state in the form of scholarship grants was important and innovative; adding that it will go a long way in encouraging members to do well in their practices. She added that the primary aim is to enhance their professional growth and development in the form of improving their professional competence.
“Talking about the criteria for picking the awardees, members of the committee which were drawn from all arms of PSN sat and specified some criteria to be considered before an individual is considered a winner. We put in place the mechanism to detect if any of the awardees is under any other form of funding.
“We also assessed their contributions to Kwara State PSN, as well as the technical groups they belong to and points were awarded for that. So, we gathered all the points, and those with the highest points were selected. Therefore, it was very strict and we ensure that all the selected members satisfied the minimum requirement”, she said.
In her response, Pharm. Busayomi Abolarin, on behalf of the beneficiaries, said that the grant was well appreciated and that it will urge them to do more for the practice, work hard to achieve the desired results and continue to contribute meaningfully to the development of pharmacy practice in the state and Nigeria as a whole.
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