Eight hundred and eighty-four (884) pupils in three public-mission primary schools in Nawfia, Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra state have been given scholarships for the first term of the 2023/2024 academic year.
ANN recalls that Anambra state government’s free education policy is only available to students and pupils in public – public schools in the state.
Public-mission schools are schools jointly managed by the missions and the state government which were public schools handed over to missions while public-public schools are schools solely managed by the state government.
The scholarship worth one-point-five million was paid as school fees by the Chief of Protocol and Deputy Chief of staff to Governor Chukwuma Soludo, Mr Chinedu Nwoye and the Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budgets, Mrs Chiamaka Nnake.
The pupils were drawn from three schools in the community which include Okagbue Memorial Primary School, Nawfia where two hundred and eighty-four pupils benefited from the scholarship award.
A total sum of seven hundred and ten thousand naira only were paid for them as first term school fees for the 2023/2024 academic year.
At Ojoko Primary School, Nawfia, one hundred and fifty-seven primary school pupils received the scholarship to the tune of two hundred and ten thousand naira, five hundred naira only while at Uruorji Primary School, Nawfia school fees totaling four hundred and five thousand, five hundred naira only were paid for one hundred and forty-three students plus additional three hundred nursery pupils of the school.
Presenting the cheques to the Head Teachers at the three schools respectively, the Chief Protocol and Deputy Chief of staff to the Governor, Mr Nwoye said that he and Commissioner Nnake, decided to offset the school fees for pupils in Nawfia because there is only one public-public school in the community that benefited from Anambra State government’s free education policy, thereby leaving out many children from the free education.
He said that they wanted the children to have access to quality education and give their parents a little relief from expenses.
Mr Nwoye, a one-time pupil of Uruorji Primary School, Nawfia, advised the pupils to study hard so as to become useful to themselves, their parents and the society at large.
On her part, the Commissioner for Budget, Mrs Nnake, said they were happy to put smiles on the faces of the children and their parents and said they will continue to impact lives in the community and beyond as a way of giving back to the society.
In their separate reactions, the representative of the Okagbue clan, Chief Harrison Okagbue, the Head Teacher of Ojoko Primary school, Mrs Ifeyinwa Mmaduobi and the Manager of Uruorji Primary School, appreciated Mr Nwoye and Mrs Nnake for their benevolence and prayed God to bless them while the children sang the state’s school anthem to the admiration of the guests.
Welcoming the group to all the schools, the Niger Provincial Education Secretary and Education Secretary of the Anglican Communion, Venerable Ifeanyi Umeh, said such gestures are rare especially now that the economy is facing mounting challenges.
