By Nwabueze Okonkwo

ONITSHA—Three bereaved students of Federal Government Girls College, FGGC, Onitsha, Anambra state, Miss Blessing Anuligwo, in SS 3, Patience Ugochi Udogu SS2G and Blessing Chisom Udogu also SS2G who lost their fathers recently have received N500,000 each, totaling N1.5 million as insurance welfare package from the management of National Insurance Corporation of Nigeria, NICON.

Out of this amount, N200,000 was given to the school authorities for their school fees and feeding during the academic period, while N300,000 was handed over to each of their mothers to take care of their clothing and other welfare during the holidays.

Handing over the three cheques for N200,000 each totaling N600,000 to the Principal of FGGC, Onitsha, Mrs. Margaret Enonuya, the Regional General Manager of NICON in-charge of South East zone, Mrs. Edith Ogbuagu, a legal practitioner, explained that the scheme was introduced into unity schools in the 2014/2015 academic session to ensure that any student who lost his or her sponsor would not drop out of school.

Ogbuagu who also handed three cheques of N300,000, each totaling N900,000 to the bereaved mothers of the three students who lost their fathers, Mrs. Helen Nkechi Udogu, a school teacher and mother of Patience and Blessing Udogu and Mrs. Edith Anuligwo, a petty trader and mother of the other Blessing, further explained that this amount would be given to the bereaved students on an annual basis, until the student graduates and passes out from SS3.

Ogbuagu was flanked by Enugu branch manager of NICON, Callistus Ugwuanyi, his Onitsha and Awka counterparts, Mrs. Onyinye Ozowara and Mrs. Ifeoma Anyalebechi, as well as the Southeast Regional Technical Manager, Mrs. Philo Amuh and Onitsha branch Accoun-tant, Mr. Vincent Obiorah.

She disclosed that with an annual premium payment of N5,000 per student, any student who dies accidentally or on the other way round if his or her sponsor dies, he or she would be entitled to the N500,000 welfare package.

She stated that in addition to the N500,000 payment for an accidental death of a student, NICON would equally give N50,000 cash as burial expenses of the dead student or N50,000 as accidental medical expenses for any student who has an accident and was hospitalized.

She also disclosed that accidental permanent disability of a student attracts a payment of the sum of N500,000 as benefit to the disabled, adding that under the scheme, NICON had earlier not only given N1 million to two students of the Onitsha FGGC who lost their parents some time last year, but had also made similar payments at Federal Government College, FGC, Nise; FGGC, Okigwe and Owerri; FGC Okposi and Ezzamgbo, all within the South East region.

Responding, Mrs. Anuligwo who noted that her husband, Christopher, a tipper driver and a native of Ezinifite in Aguata Local government Area of Anambra state residing in Lagos, died on November 6, 2015, said she was overwhelmed by the NICON welfare package and prayed God to reward them abundantly.

Also responding, Mrs. Udogu who recalled that her own husband, Adonis Chimezie Udogu died on July 11, 2015, said her pains had been relieved by the NICON package and urged other parents to pay their children’s insurance premium since according to her, the welfare package is real.

In her own response, the school principal, Enonuya, noted that the parents are complying to a very large extent in the payment of the N5,000 insurance premium for each of the students.

Flanked by the school Bursar, Dr. Benjamin Nzomiwu, Enonuya commended the Parents/Teachers Association, PTA of the school, Chinedu Ike Esq., for embracing the insurance policy and urged the students to use the opportunity offered them by the NICON’s welfare programme to study hard, even as she also charged NICON to remain steadfast in the implementation of the welfare scheme.

In his speech, Chairman of PTA of the school, Chinedu Ike, a legal practitioner and civil servant, described the event as very encouraging, adding that as a newly introduced policy, with prompt payments to both the school and the bereaved family of the student, some parents were now beginning to understand it from a proper perspective that the scheme is a booster to education.