Efforts to widen access to tertiary education in Rivers State received a boost as Comrade Imeabe Saviour Oscar, Chairman of the Coalition of Rivers State Youth Bodies, provided 30 free JAMB registration forms to students in Gwara community, Khana Local Government Area.
The intervention is targeted at students from low income families who may be unable to afford the cost of registering for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination. Oscar said the support is intended to remove financial barriers that often prevent qualified candidates from pursuing university education.
He also used the occasion to appeal to the Rivers State Government to reinstate the State Scholarship Board. According to him, restoring the scheme would allow deserving students to access funding for their studies and reduce the social challenges linked to a lack of educational support.
“I want to call on the government in place to see how they can go back to the system where Rivers state government was giving out scholarships because not everybody or every family is buoyant enough to sponsor their children to school. And that’s why there is a high level of prostitution, stealing, and crime in our society, because so many people in school are using every means possible to graduate because their parents cannot afford their fees anymore.
”Our Rivers State Scholarship Board must come up so that qualified people can get scholarships from the state government,” he said.
He noted that the free registrations represent his contribution towards strengthening educational advancement in the community.
