By Isatou Ceesay Bah
In a bid to contribute to the improvement of academic performance of students in his Constituency in particular but the country in general, Ousman Sillah, the National Assembly Member for Banjul North, has established a Scholarship Fund to support the education of outstanding and needy students in Senior Secondary Schools, who are resident in Banjul North.
The launching was held at the Banjul North Member’s office in the Capital city yesterday, August 8th 2018.
Speaking at the launch, Ousman Sillah stated that the scholarship fund will be providing annual scholarship for four outstanding but needy students in grades ten and eleven, starting September 2018; that in order to attain a fair gender balance of the award of the scholarship, the four offers will be awarded to two males and two females.
Sillah said the best way to prepare for the future of an individual and society in general, is to ensure children and young people are provided with relevant education that would enable them acquire requisite knowledge, training and skills, to become productive and dependable members of society.
He stressed that the scholarship initiative, seeks to achieve four objectives: to provide financial support to pay for tuition and books of deserving and needy students residing in Banjul North Constituency; to encourage students to improve their academic performance to continue their education; to improve the exams results of students within the Constituency, and to assist parents of beneficiaries in the education of their children. He concluded by assuring the people, that the initiative for the Constituency is not exclusively for education because there are other surprise packages in store.
For his part, the Dupty Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education Adama Jimba Jobe, said his Ministry is not only proud of the National Assembly Member’s initiative, but will support him all the way with this laudable initiative; that his doors are wide open for people who complement the work of their Ministry.
“No one knows what the future holds for the beneficiaries who can also occupy Ousman Sillah’s position; that it’s important to share what you have with the people who do not have.
Jobe further challenged Banjulians to come out in their large numbers to support the initiative;
He thanked Ousman Sillah for the laudable initiative and everyone present for their tireless efforts in attending.
Amadou Leigh, a native of Banjul and teacher at the Gambia Senior Secondary School, said he complements Ousman Sillah’s initiative and tireless efforts in helping people; that what he did will go a long way in helping many students to continue their education; that many drop out of School due to lack of funds, which is not helping families; that “the students are the future leaders of the tomorrow and their education is a development for the nation”.
