By Nelson Manneh
The National Assembly Member for Banjul North Constituency, has finally identified the six students who will be awarded scholarship to be sponsored by him, for the 2018-19 academic year.
According to a Press Release dated 29th of October 2018 from his Banjul Office, the Scholarship Board constituted by Ousman Sillah, MP for Banjul North, is pleased to announce to the general public, in the spirit of transparency and accountability, the award of scholarships to six students for the 2018/19 academic year.
“Following the official launch of the Banjul North National Assembly Member’s Scholarship Fund and its Board of Trustees on 8 August 2018, the process has now been concluded,” it stated.
It further indicate that the MP of Banjul North will embark on a house to house visit the objective of which is to ensure that every parent and ward of an eligible student within the targeted categories, is aware of the existence of such a facility, so as to be able to benefit from it if one satisfies the stated requirements.
“This community sensitization by the Banjul North NAM was followed by the convening of the inaugural meeting of the Scholarship Board under the Chairpersonship of Father Bruno Toupan, the Principal of Saint Augustine’s Senior Secondary School (SASSS), during which the Board discussed and finalized the operational modalities of managing the scholarship fund. The meeting which was held on Thursday October 4th 2018 at the Principal’s Office, also selected the Secretary, Treasurer and Social Secretary of the Board in the persons of Messrs. Musa Saidykhan, Amadou Leigh, and Kabir Mbye respectively, while Aji Ida Jahumpa, Begay Jeng and Baboucar Mboge are selected as members,” it further stated.
The Board agreed on some criteria for selecting eligible students and among them include being resident in Banjul North Constituency or one of your parents is a voter in Banjul North. The Sponsorship is for six students which is gender balanced, and continuous support will depend on the good academic performance of the student. The student must have at least aggregate 42. In case of shortlisting students with the same aggregate, the Board will consider performance in English and Mathematics. Selection of beneficiaries will be after the interview and if possible, home visits will be made among others.
The scholarship initiative which is directly funded from the salary of the Banjul North National Assembly Member, seeks to achieve the following four main objectives namely:
- to provide financial support to pay for the tuition and books of deserving and or needy students residing in Banjul North Constituency who are in grades ten and eleven in senior secondary school (Children of voters in the constituency are also eligible)
- to encourage students to improve on their academic performance in order to benefit from this support to continue their education
- to boost the exam results of students in the constituency and also to assist the parents of the beneficiaries in the education of their children
From the launch date on August 8 to the deadline on October 12th 2018, the Office of the Principal of SASSS where all applications were advised to be submitted to, received a total number of 30 applications from students seeking scholarship.
Initially, the Banjul North NAM announced that the scholarship fund would be supporting four students, two males and two females, in grades ten and eleven in Senior Secondary School. However, having assessed the situation, the Banjul North NAM has now increased the number to six beneficiaries in the same grades.
Having reviewed all the applications vis a vis the laid down criteria, the Board is pleased to announce that the following eligible candidates are the ones being offered the first scholarships for a full academic year, commencing September 2018: Binta Kanteh, Ousman Bah, Yandeh Mboob, Mam Yassin Ceesay, Fatou Goswell and Rohey Sillah.
The National Assembly Member for Banjul North and Board, wish to congratulate these six students for the award and hope that they will continue to demonstrate that they deserve their selection through their outstanding academic performance in both their term and exam results, the release concludes.
