Enugu State Government on Friday said no fewer than 18 persons from the state have benefitted from its scholarship programme to study in different countries of the world.
Uche Abonyi, Executive Secretary, Enugu Scholarship Board, said this when members of the Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporation and Government Owned Companies (SSASCGOC), News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Chapter, paid him a courtesy visit in Enugu.
Abonyi said most American and European universities have helped the board to improve on the scholarship scheme.
He said the board, in the last five months, had sent 18 persons to pursue post-graduate programmes for the Masters Degree (MSc) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) levels in both Europe and America.
He said that of the 18 students, 12 students are currently studying in America, others in Mexico and Australia.
The board secretary said one the students is pursuing a course of study spanned three countries: Spain, UK and Japan.
“We have academic advisors who analyse the students result and advise them on schools to apply to,” Abonyi said.
He said the board pays paltry sums while they enjoyed the sponsorship and partnership from those countries.
He said a lot of opportunities abound and urged people to leverage on them.
According to Abonyi, the board leveraged on opportunities provided by the state government to create social capital to offer scholarships to young, talented students in the state.
He said the present administration in the state is seriously pursuing its three core mandates of scholarship, Small, Medium Enterprise and Science and Technology for human development and job creation.
“Fresh students are enrolling into the PhD programmes because of their outstanding results,” he said.
Earlier, SSASCGOC Chairperson, Comrade Ogechi James, said the visit was to partner with the board in ensuring that Enugu state indigenes in the union benefited from the scholarship scheme.
James thanked the board for developing the students that would drive the state and encouraged other states to emulate them. (NAN)
