RCE Greater Yenagoa - 2022

COMPETITIVE EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT (BURSARY) SCHEME FOR SECONDARY AND UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN TWO KOLO CREEK CLUSTER COMMUNITIES
Basic Information
Title of project : 
COMPETITIVE EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT (BURSARY) SCHEME FOR SECONDARY AND UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN TWO KOLO CREEK CLUSTER COMMUNITIES
Submitting RCE: 
RCE Greater Yenagoa
Contributing organization(s) : 
1. IMIRINGI COMMUNITY TRUST
2. ELEBELE COMMUNITY TRUST
3. KOLO-CREEK CLUSTER DEVELOPMENT BOARD
4. COMMUNITY INTER-RELATIONS AND CONCILIATION INTIATIVE
Focal point(s) and affiliation(s)
Name: 
BARR. EBELEMA DANADANA
Organizational Affiliation: 
CHAIRMAN OF ELEBELE COMMUNITY TRUST AND CHAIRMAN OF KOLO-CREEK CLUSTER DEVELOPMENT BOARD
E-mail: 
ebelema14@gmail.com
Name: 
BENSON OGBARA
Organizational Affiliation: 
CHAIRMAN OF IMIRINGI COMMUNITY TRUST
Name: 
SIR ANTHONY WAKWE LAWRENCE
Organizational Affiliation: 
CHAIRMAN OF COMMUNITY INTER-RELATIONS AND CONCILIATION INITIATIVE
E-mail: 
tonylawrence942@gmail.com
Name: 
DANGO LAWRENCE
Organizational Affiliation: 
COMMUNITY INTER-RELATIONS AND CONCILIATION INITIATIVE
E-mail: 
seniorlawrence@yahoo.com
Format of project: 
MANUSCRIPT
Language of project: 
ENGLISH
Date of submission:
Update
Does this project link to any education and/or sustainable development policy or policies?: 
Yes
https://education.gov.ng/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/NATIONAL-POLICY-ON-EDUCATION.pdf
At what level is the policy operating?: 
National
SDG 4
At what level is the policy operating?: 
International
Geographical & Education Information
Region: 
Africa and Middle East
Country: 
Nigeria
Location(s): 
BAYELSA STATE IN THE NIGER DELTA REGION
Address of focal point institution for project: 
SIR ANTHONY WAKWE LAWRENCE
COMMUNITY INTER-RELATIONS AND CONCILIATION INITIATIVE
7 ALL SAINTS STREET
UPE SANDFILL, BORIKIRI
PORT HARCOURT
NIGERIA
Ecosystem(s):
Urban/Peri-urban
Target Audience:
Community, Higher, Secondary
Socioeconomic and environmental characteristics of the area : 
The communities are within the Niger Delta region with low-swampy terrain that gets waterlogged during the rainy seasons. This affects their farming system and a large proportion of the inhabitants are very poor. Their level of poverty affects their ability to pay for education. With the occurrence of out-of-school children the future is even at risk. Lack of proper education and lack of skills have combines to aggravate the problem of unemployment and associated social vices.
Description of sustainable development challenge(s) in the area the project addresses: 
There is high poverty or lack of finance in Nigeria (70 million out of about 200 million people are very poor. (World Population Review 2022) - https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/poverty-
The lack of adequate educational support for community members has always been considered one of the priorities by community stakeholders. This combined with poverty has resulted in Nigeria having the highest number of out-of-school children https://www.vanguardngr.com/2022/06/nigeria-has-11-million-of-out-of-school-children-highest-in-world-world-bank/
Imirnigi and Elebele communities ranked educational challenges as the 4th of 7 and 2nd of 6 pressing challenges respectively. Both communities identified competitive educational support (bursary) scheme as an intervention to ameliorate the situation
Contents
Status: 
Ongoing
Period: 
August, 2019
Rationale: 
Cost of education: paying of school fees including registration for West African School Certificate Examinations (WASCE), purchase of school uniforms, cost of university education among others stand as major problems due to endemic poverty of community members. 33% of Nigerians are living in extreme poverty and World Bank said Nigeria has the highest number of out-of-school children in the world with 11 million pupils recorded in 2020. Both communities decided to spend some amount of money from their development fund to implement this scheme. They spent between 12% (Imiringi) and 10% (Elebele) of funding obtained from SPDC for this scheme.While these communities cannot fund the schooling of every child in their communities on their own, they can contribute their quota to reducing the effects of the problem. They, therefore, chose to develop this competitive selection by merit intervention to ensure that every intelligent child in these communities, who if educated will mostly use the capacity building to better him or herself and in the long run these bright individuals are not denied education.
Objectives: 
Objectives:
1. Provide funding to motivate all bright and intelligent children to attend secondary school and also get a university education
2. Provide motivation for all children to work hard, and compete to qualify for the awards
3. Improve the general standard of education in the communities since every student will work hard to be selected
4. Improve the availability of highly qualified professionals through this intervention. That is, it will produce high-level manpower for employment in every sector of the economy and admission into postgraduate programmes.
5. It will assist and reduce the financial burden experienced by poor students/parents.
Activities and/or practices employed: 
Following the steps, as shown in the figure below, the community implements the projects and carries out annual reviews/monitoring and project evaluations after every three years of implementation. Another approval is sought after such evaluation to commence a new round of the project.
Other key activities:
1. Notification/advertisement of scheme for people to apply by completing a form and submission of relevant requirements.
2. Selection process/tests of qualified candidates
3. Awards
Size of academic audience: 
About 364 students are currently benefiting
Results: 
This scheme reduced the negative impacts of inflationary increases suffered by all. However, all the beneficiaries interviewed indicated that (if possible) they would prefer an increase in the amount per beneficiary because of the continuously increasing cost of things. That notwithstanding, the goals set and the derived objectives are met by the scheme in its present form while efforts will continuously be made towards improving the scheme.
The scheme has improved school attendance by beneficiaries since such beneficiaries will be removed from the scheme if they stopped going to school. The competitive selection process has also ensured general improvement in the standard of education as every student is serious about his/her academic work to enable them to qualify to benefit from the scheme at the secondary or university levels.
Lessons learned: 
Comments from some key stakeholders:
1. DAWARI OKPU-SOLOMON – CDC CHAIRMAN OF IMIRINGI COMMUNITY
The scheme is of immense benefit because many parents have no money; however, because of this project, we now have many graduates in our community.
2. AFEKAFE OYINIMIDO – JS3 STUDENT OF ARCHDEACON BROWN EDUCATIONAL CENTRE
The scheme has helped me in paying my school fees and paying for other school needs like textbooks.
3. HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS DAVID OSENE OSENE – PARAMOUNT CHIEF OF ELEBELE COMMUNITY
The scheme has been helpful in general and despite the quantum of money given being small, any support for a very poor person is appreciated. We hope to consolidate this scheme in subsequent years.
4. JOSEPF JAMES ADUMEIN – PETROLEUM ENGINEERING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT OF NIGER DELTA UNVERSITY AND PRESIDENT OF THE STUDENTS
This project has reduced my expenses. I am a self-sponsoring student and it will help if the amount is increased.
Key messages: 
Ensuring that gifted and very promising children of our communities do not become put-of-school children
Relationship to other RCE activities: 
Currently, we are not collaborating with other RCEs on this projects but we are aware that Gbarain/Ekpetiama Cluster Development Board is implementing a Post Graduate Scholarship scheme. We hope to collaborate with them one day.
Funding: 
100% of funding of this scheme and all our activities is from Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) and her joint venture partners as part of her social corporate responsibility scheme.
References and reference materials: 
File KOLO CREEK CDB COMPETITIVE EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT BURSARY SCHEME.docx
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
(https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgs) and other themes of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)
SDG 1 - End poverty in all its forms everywhere 
Indirect
SDG 2 - End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture 
Indirect
SDG 3 - Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages 
Indirect
SDG 4 - Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all 
Direct
SDG 5 - Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls 
Direct
SDG 8 - Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all 
Indirect
SDG 16 - Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels 
Indirect
ESD for 2030-Priority Action Areas
Priority Action Area 2 - Transforming learning and training environments 
state: 
Direct
Priority Action Area 3 - Developing capacities of educators and trainers 
state: 
Indirect
Priority Action Area 4 - Mobilizing youth 
state: 
Direct
Priority Action Area 5 - Accelerating sustainable solutions at local level 
state: 
Direct
Update: 
Yes
I acknowledge the above: 
Yes