As part of Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s administration’s policy of raising the standards of education in the state, the Transition Committee Chairman of Anambra West Local Government Area, Mr Felix Ikechi has paid the school and West African Secondary School Certificate Examination, WASSCE, fees for forty-two indigent students in the area.

 

The fees cover the 2022/2023 academic session for the students selected from eight public and mission secondary schools in the council area.

the event for the hand-over of the fees which took place at the Local government’s Headquarters in Nzam was attended by the benefiting students, principals of the benefiting schools, parents, members of Local Government staff and many others.

 

Addressing the beneficiaries, Mr Ikechi who said he was highly delighted over the event, said that the bursary was necessitated because of the impact of the 2022 flood menace that destroyed the means of livelihood of the people, which made many parents unable to pay the school and WASSCE fees of their children and wards.

Mr Ikechi who maintained that the flood disaster and the economic hardship in Nigeria at the moment have adversely affected the people’s economic status, promised to sustain the programme and make it an annual event, even as he said that the beneficiaries were carefully selected by their school principals without any interference from anybody.

 

The Anambra West Mayor made it clear that education is the best investment one can make in any society, and revealed that all the eight public secondary schools in the Council Area benefited from the exercise, as well as some missionary schools and thanked Barrister Clement Onwuenwuno and Chief Anthony Oguguo for partnering with them in the project.

The member representing Anambra West Constituency in Anambra State House of Assembly, Honourable Patrick Obalum-Udoba while thanking the Chairman for his foresight and magnanimity, said that education remains the key to unlocking potential of every child and congratulated the beneficiaries for being lucky.

The Head of Local Government Administration of Anambra West, Barrister Kingsley Ezeibe euologized Mr Ikechi for being responsive and innovative and disclosed that the gesture will boost the morale of the students to study harder.

 

Speaking on behalf of the students, Master Chikwado Ezeudu from Community Secondary School, Umueze Anam promised that they will not let their benefactor down and prayed God to bless him immensely.

Other speakers at the event commended Mr Ikechi for assisting parents to offset the fees burden of their children and wards at this critical time, even as the Local Government Chairman pointed out that he will be monitoring the performance of the beneficiaries at intervals in order to ensure that it yields positive result.