(SLENA, 4th June, 2022).The Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs under the ECOWAS Scholarship for Excellence Project secured funding to support sixteen university students (eleven females and five males). The project is designed to support ‘brilliant and needy’ university students with Grant-in-Aid. On award of scholarship, each student must ensure excellent grades throughout their course or stand a risk of losing the subsidy.
A Selection Committee was constituted by the Ministry comprising of the Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs, Ministry of Planning and Economic Development and Ministry of Technical and Higher Education to conduct the screening process. Sixteen students from across the country pursuing various courses at the University of Sierra Leone (FBC) College of Health, Medicine and Allied Sciences (COHMAS), Njala University, Institute of Public Administration and Management (IPAM) and University of Makeni (UNIMAK) were chosen.
A cheque for the equivalent of $1,000 was handed to each student. Presenting the cheques to the students, was the Chairman of the Committee, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs – Madam Zainab Buya-Kamara. She passionately advised the students to make good use of the funds and to maintain excellent grades in their studies. Also in her statement, Madam Buya-Kamara commended ECOWAS Gender Development Centre for their continued support to the Government of Sierra Leone and for creating opportunities for ‘needy and brilliant’ students to fulfill their educational aspiration. On behalf of the students Mohamed Barrie, expressed thanks and appreciation to the Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs and also to ECOWAS for providing them with a Grant to meet their educational needs for 2020/21 Academic Year. He assured the Committee that they would do their utmost best to live up to expectation.