U.S. government had given university scholarship to 30 outstanding Nigerian students to enable them to study in the U.S and other countries.
The scholarship is in furtherance of the Education U.S.A Opportunity Funds programme.
The Deputy Cultural Affairs Officer of the U.S. Embassy in Abuja, Malia Heroux, made this known on Friday during the pre-departure orientation for the students.
Ms Heroux said 35 students applied for the 2019 scholarship programme but only 30 of them were selected, with 27 of them going to the U.S. while the remaining three got the prestigious Mastercards to Ghana.
She said the students were selected across schools in Nigeria based on academic excellence, demonstrated leadership potential, ethos of giving back to community extracurricular achievement, and talent.
She explained that although the programme was spearheaded by the U.S. embassy in Nigeria, the scholarship and funds were provided by the institutions it partnered with.
“The scholarship is for students who are incredibly high achieving academically but come from backgrounds which are not economically conducive to paying for school fees,” she said.
Ms Heroux said the scholarship equally cut across students considered to be leaders in their communities and seeking to make a difference in their communities.
Also speaking, the acting Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy, Anton Smith, in Abuja said the U.S. was interested in providing opportunities for exceptional students to study and return to develop their country.
Mr Smith said the scholarship programme also created opportunities for students to learn more about America and the culture which would further help in strengthening ties between Nigeria and the U.S.(NAN)
Never miss a moment! Get the stories shaping Nigeria, delivered straight to your phone. Follow Peoplesdaily Newspaper on WhatsApp for breaking news, exclusive reports, and the headlines everyone will be talking about, before anyone else.
