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…Awards scholarships to 370 students

By Luminous Jannamike, Abuja

The Executive Secretary of MTN Foundation, Odunayo Sanya, has described education as a key driver to spur development and growth in the country.

Odunayo stated this during the Award Ceremony and Alumni Induction of the 2022 MTN Foundation Scholarships, held in Abuja on Tuesday.

A total of 370 awardees including visually impaired scholars from carefully selected Public Universities, Colleges of Education and Polytechnics across Nigeria received N200,000 grant each from the Foundation.

While stressing the need for human capital development, Odunayo submitted that to build the capacity of the country, the people must be properly trained with knowledge, skills and experience.

She said, “This same faith and belief spurs us to invest in the education of our students mindful of its critical role in our nation’s development. These scholarships are in furtherance of our commitment to empowering our youth and encouraging academic excellence in public tertiary institutions across the country.

“Our work in preparing these future leaders does not end there. Upon graduation, each scholar takes part in the MTN Foundation ‘Skill Up Training’ to ensure they are well equipped to compete and add value. We are proud of the work we do through this initiative, guided by our unwavering belief in the transformative power of education in our nation.”

Speaking on the impact of the Scheme, Matthew Vijye, a blind recipient, described the MTN Foundation Scheme scholarship as a game-changer for him.

To date, the MTN Foundation has awarded scholarships to 4582 eligible students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) as well as visually impaired students in any discipline have benefited from the scholarship programme.