Twenty eight Senior Secondary school students across the six Area Councils of the Federal Capital Territory have received scholarships from the University of Lagos Alumni Association, FCT chapter, in an annual initiative targeting indigent students in public schools.

The scholarships, awarded on Thursday, cover school fees, levies, West African Examinations Council exams, and National Examinations Council exams. The association confirmed that the exercise has been ongoing for three years and will continue.

Vice Chairperson of the FCT branch, Mrs Julia Davis, disclosed that the 28 beneficiaries were carefully selected from across all six Area Councils based on academic performance. "And these 28 students who received the award today were the ones who came out on top," she stated.

Davis noted that the selection included students with special needs, describing their inclusion as a source of pride for the association. "So it's our joy that we are seeing this kind of improvement in our society, that even though they have this impairment, you know, they are still able to stand with their pair. And so, we are happy to make them also recipients of this," she affirmed.

She added that the scholarship covers each beneficiary's NECO exams, WAEC, and school fees for the year, and confirmed that the award is a yearly event for the association.

The Mandate Secretary for Education, Dr Danlami Hayyo, was represented at the occasion by the Director and Secretary of the FCT Secondary Education Board, Hajiya Fatima Gambo Babba, who commended the gesture. "Some students find it difficult to pay their school fees, and this gesture will go a long way in alleviating the suffering of some parents," she noted, urging other non governmental organisations and individuals to replicate the initiative.

Chairman of the association's scholarship committee, Emmanuel Emele, stressed that the focus remains on indigent students, adding that for now, the association is concentrating solely on SS3 students.