Date: 2018-01-16

A non-governmental organization, the Bayo and Bunnmi Babalola Foundation said it has offered scholarship worth N15 million to about 575 indigent students from Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara State in the last three years.

Founder of the group, Mr. Sunday Babalola, who disclosed this during the presentation of the 2017 edition of the scholarship to 253 beneficiaries, explained that when the project took off in 2015, there were a total of 103 benefi- ciaries, which included 32 from tertiary level, 81 for WASCE); 35 for JSS 2 and 56 in SS 2, while in 2016, there was a total of 219 beneficiaries.

The beneficiaries of the 2017 scholarship, which worth a total of N5 million comprised 111 students in the Junior Secondary School JSS1 and JSS2; 36 in Senior Secondary School (SS 3) as well as 106 undergraduates.

Babalola, while lamenting the inability of many parents to cater for the educational needs of their children due to lack of basic support from government, called for strong measures to revitalise the formal and non-formal education sectors in the country.

He also called on non-governmental organisations, donor agencies, corporate organisations, groups, foundations and associations as well as philanthropists to assist the government in the urgent need to upgrade educational standards in the state and the country in general.

While pointing out that the society in general will be better for it, the philanthropist also lamented the negative effects of the incessant strikes, especially in the health and education sectors on the educational growth of the students. He lamented that the development has negatively affected the health, education and the general well-being of pupils and students, as well as their parents and guardians.

As a way out, he called on the government to be alive to its responsibilities by providing necessary funds and mechanisms to ensure that the sectors are functional, while pleading with the academic and non-academic staff to be more committed to educational and national growth and those in the health sector to also take their duties with utmost responsibility.