The scholarship will last for four years with free internet connectivity through their courses at the university. The presentation was graced by the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, senior officials of MOBSE, Executive Director Q-Group Foundation, among others. The award was held at Q-Group conference hall.
In delivering her speech, Isatou Jah, executive director, Q-Group Foundation recalled that a few months ago: “We stood here to officially announce the launch of the QGroup-MoBSE scholarship program. Today - 3 months later we are pleased and proud to be here to award the recipients of the scholarship,” she stated.
According to her, Q-Group Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Q-Group companies through which they streamline their initiatives and interventions with the aim of contributing to national development.
She reiterated that since the inception of Q-Group Foundation in 2016, the company has been supporting initiatives focused on sustainable development in the areas of Education, Health, Youth and Community Development.
“Notably, in 2018, we signed an MOU with the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (MOBSE) to establish a cooperative relationship between our institutions and to promote partnership based on active dialogue and interaction in the development of education.”
She went on to say that in 2020 they partnered with MOBSE to organise the country's largest spelling bee at a tune of D10 million. “Most recently in 2020, when the pandemic hit, we supported the reopening of schools through a donation of 1 million,” she further said.
She went on to say that they have been supporting numerous students every year, particularly the under privileged to access tertiary education at UTG or Gambia Collage.
“However we have realised that most of the students that come to us for assistance are either studying accounting or development studies and being a technology based group, having suitably qualified Gambian in technology and related fields have been a challenge for us,” she also said.
As such, she said, the partnership is specifically established to bridge the gap in institutions of higher learning and encourage young Gambians to venture into mathematics, sciences, and ICT-related programs at the University of the Gambia (UTG).
Louise Moses Mendy, permanent secretary for MOBSE underscored the significance of the scholarship package program. He praised the Q-Group Foundation for their support and strong partnership with MOBSE in ensuring deserving students benefit from the scholarship.
He advised students to continue to show commitment to their education to ensure the country is proud of them. He also advised parents to motivate and encourage the children in their educational journey.
Meanwhile, under the programme, every year 10 deserving students will be awarded a scholarship. The award is distributed equitably across the seven regional education directorates. The scholarship covers tuition fees and free 10GB internet access for the entire duration of the study programme.
