Date: 2017-10-30

About 250 indigent students in public secondary and tertiary institutions in Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara State have benefited from N7.5 million scholarship award by a philanthropic organisation in the area.

Speaking during the presentation of the scholarship, the Coordinator of Bayo and Bunmi Babalola Foundation, Mr Sunday Babalola, said education is a means of emancipating the people.

Babalola, who said that the gesture was aimed at assisting indigent students in the area to achieve their potential, added that education is a tool for building a vibrant society and making enlightened people who would know their rights and fight for such rights.

"With about 10.5 million out-of-school children in the country, it means they won't be able to contribute anything to the society in future. Education forms the basis of development. The only solution is to get people educated and invest more money into it.

"What it takes to actually go to school is not much, but in spite of that, you will find out that a lot of people cannot go to school because of the little which government cannot provide. We are spending about N7.5 million this year to give scholarship to 250 students in public schools, he said.

Babalola, a petroleum engineer, said the beneficiaries are students of JSS, SSS and tertiary institutions from the local government area, adding that the scholarship and philanthropic programme began in 2015.

He that the foundation had also provided a borehole to Christian College, Omu-Aran.