MTN Nigeria through its corporate social investment arm on Tuesday 4th and 11th of September 2018 awarded scholarships to more than 200 students worth 200 thousand naira yearly.
This is part of its CSR initiative of assisting Nigerian youths in their quest for quality education especially those who cannot afford tuition, feed in school and lack basic resources such as books for seamless learning.
The foundation according to a statement released on Wednesday indicated that since the turn of the year, a total of 1,164 scholarships have been awarded to deserving students in various educational institutions across the country and over 8,000 scholarships worth more than 1.6 billion Naira have also been awarded to students since the launch of the programmes in 2011.
The scholarship is split into two schemes: the first scheme is for students studying science and technology related courses and the second is for Blind students.
During the award ceremonies that held in Abuja and Owerri on the 4th and 11th of September 2018 respectively, MTN Foundation also inducted previous beneficiaries of the scholarship program into the Alumni association of MTNF scholarships comprising both the sighted and the visually impaired.
Dennis Okoro, Director MTN Foundation, speaking during the events, said, “Aiding and improving the lives of the Nigerian youth is something that is dear to us and close to our hearts that is why MTNF has been awarding scholarships to Nigerian students since 2011.
“We intend to impact positively on the nation. Our impact goes beyond statistics and figures; it is to shape Nigeria’s future through education, to invest in the lives of tomorrow’s leaders, by providing them with an opportunity to pursue their dreams despite financial limitations.”
A total of 7,500 students applied for the MTN Foundation science and technology scholarship scheme. 1,500 students took the test and 500 students won the scholarship.
It is a scholarship won by merit; as students maintain their good grades, they continue to receive an annual grant of N200,000.
Whilst the science and technology scholarship scheme is strictly for students studying science and technology related courses, the scholarship for Blind is open to any visually impaired undergraduate students irrespective of their course of study.
MTN Foundation was launched in 2005 with the aim of improving quality of life in communities across the country.
For more than a decade, it has helped impact lives positively through several social investment programmes in the areas of education, health and economic empowerment.
