The Oldboys' Association of the prestigious Government Secondary School Afikpo (2003 set) has initialized a scholarship programme which will take care of WASSCE registration for the concerned lucky students.
This is indeed epoch making and unprecedented gesture from the 2003 set led by Comr. Otuu Obinna Ogbonnia, a Lecturer from Federal Polytechnic Oko and NITDA Scholarship Award Winner, who recently was all over the media for gifting his best project students with N10, 000 each.
The yardsticks for picking the WASSCE Scholarship students were weighed on the scale of Academic Performance and Family background. Hence, the only ones considered for the Scholarship were the intelligent students who are finding it difficult to register for the forthcoming WASSCE. Indebt classroom analysis and facts findings involving the SS3 students, the teachers and staff were carried out by the Scholarship Standing Committee before the final selection was made.
Envelopes were given to the lucky students, each containing #18,000 for the purchase of their WASSCE.
According to Comr.Otuu, “This is just a little way of giving back to our alma mater and humanity; while working in tandem with the vision of the general Alumni Association which is ‘To feed the hungry minds of Sub-Saharan Africa by promoting education at all levels but especially at its most crucial juncture, the secondary level’, as conspicuously seen in our website https://gssaaa.org/about/mission/. While in Government Secondary School, I found out that there were brilliant students who could not register their WASSCE. This disfigured their potentials and hitherto, they have not found stepping stones. So, we really need to start in our own little way to change such narratives. We took over office from the past Excos and I thought it wise to bring this to the table; by God's grace, my members gave a heavy nod to it, with the financial support of our Patron, Engr Ogbonnia Okoronkwo who has been a light on our path. The scholarship is going to be an annual event, and it will continue till 2024, when my tenure will elapse as the President of the Association. I also hope that the next President will continue the gesture. Meanwhile, I appreciate the entire 2003 set for putting hands on deck to support this project both morally and financially.”
The Committee Chairman, Mr Okereke Francis who is a Staff of Akanu Ibiam Federal Polytechnic Unwana, while leading delegation on behalf of the Oldboy’s association, stressed the need for other sets to come on board as to eradicate issues of dropout syndrome, mostly caused by lack of WASSCE registration finances.
While thanking the delegation, the Principal of the prestigious Institution, Mr. Nnachi John Ulu, who was wowed by such wonderful benevolence, thanked the entire 2003 GSSA set for setting pace through which others are envisaged to follow soon. He prayed for more open doors for those who contributed to the success of the scholarship programme.
The parents of the Scholarship recipients were not also left out in praises. They unanimously thanked the Oldboys and prayed for more successes and achievements in their endeavors, while wishing for other institutions to emulate the precedents of the great family of GSSA Oldboys.