About 1,000 indigent senior secondary school students from communities in Ede North, Ede South, Egbedore, and Ejigbo Federal Constituency have been presented with free Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination and West African Examination Council forms.
The beneficiaries received the forms from the sponsor of the initiative, Mr Ayodele Asalu, during the 10th anniversary of the programme held in Ejigbo, Osun State, on Wednesday.
The event was attended by the students, their parents, teachers, and members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the constituency.
Asalu, an APC chieftain, recalled that the initiative was launched in 2016 to empower less-privileged students in the constituency, ensuring that brilliant but indigent youths have access to higher education.
“Year on year, we increased the number of beneficiaries to accommodate rising needs and expand the reach of our intervention. Today, ten years after I first launched the idea, we have distributed over 7,000 WAEC and UTME forms in this Local Government and Federal Constituency,” he said.
Asalu disclosed that for this edition, 450 students were sponsored for WAEC while 550 received UTME forms, with all WAEC beneficiaries automatically provided with JAMB registration.
On the selection process, Asalu explained that students were drawn from 20 public secondary schools in Ejigbo, with the best 15 students from each school chosen. Additional beneficiaries were nominated through religious bodies, traditional institutions, community leaders, and other stakeholders to ensure fairness and inclusiveness.
He urged the students and their parents to make the best use of the opportunity by giving their best effort in their examinations.
The PUNCH reported in 2024 that about 600 students drawn from 20 secondary schools in Ejigbo Local Government Area of Osun State received free West African Senior School Certificate Examination and Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination registration forms.
Asalu said he was motivated to purchase the forms for the students to lessen the financial burden on their parents and guardians, adding that 350 students got free JAMB forms, while 250 others got free WAEC registration forms.
He called on privileged Nigerians to come to the aid of the less privileged to relieve the effects of the harsh economy on them, noting that such a gesture would go a long way in fostering peace and harmony in the society.
