By Dennis Agbo

The Chimaobi Sam Atu Foundation has awarded Senior Secondary Schools Certificate Examination, SSCE, Scholarship to 237 students from 28 public schools in Enugu North/South Federal Constituency in Enugu state.

The 237 SS3 students drawn from Enugu North/South Federal Constituency were selected based on merit and indigent considerations out of the 2,157 that registered for the exam, but examination written by 1,613 students on November 16, 2024.

Promoter of the Foundation, Rep. Chimaobi Atu said that the scholarship was designed to promote healthy academic culture among students and also to reduce the burden on the shoulders of some parents.

Atu said that there was incremental departure from the first edition of the scholarship which started in 2023, when 100 students benefited from the award to the 2024 edition when beneficiaries increased with about 120 percent.

He promised to award another round of scholarship next week to another round of indigent students with special cases who participated in the scholarship but didn’t get it on merit.

The Chairman of the Education Board, Dr. Chidiebere Ezinwa said the scholarship was a wake up call for many parents, school management and students, but expressed disappointment on the low performance of majority of the students.

“The Board expresses both delight and concern regarding the examination results. Delight stems from the fact that the examination was conducted in an environment free from any form of malpractice or undue influence. However, there is a sense of concern due to the high failure rate observed in the exam and the significant number of absentees, serving as a clarion call for improvement in public schools,” Ezinwa charged.

There was a special recognition to the overall best students in the exercise, Okonkwo Ebube, from Uwani Boys secondary school Enugu, while Command Day Secondary Enugu had the highest number of students with A1.

The Director of Schools Supervision in Enugu State Post Primary Schools Management Board, PPSMB, Mrs. Rosemary Onuoha expressed gratitude to the founder, Rep Atu, stating that he has contributed in making students work towards achieving their dreams and also makes them study harder since they know that somebody is there to help support them.