Thirty eight female students from St. Peter Channel Catholic Teachers College in East New Britain Province received a major boost in their learning, with the gifting of laptops and tuition scholarships through the BEST of PNG support.
With a generous donation from New Crest Mining and the Global Partnerships for Education, 33 female students were selected to be recipients of the laptops and with additional assistance from Bank South Pacific five more girls were awarded similarly.
BEST (Boosting Education Standards Together PNG) Project Manager, Ambrose Ruyooka, said Save the Children PNG in partnership with the Education Department, the HERST has been promoting girls teacher training especially in Science and Mathematics in the last two years at St. Peter Channel Catholic College in East New Britain province and will continue for a few more years.
BSP, Kokopo Branch Manager, Kalat Tiriman presented the awards which included a laptop bag and envelope containing tuition plus boarding fees for each of the five students being awarded.
In her address to the students, Tiriman said BSP believes in supporting academic growth in the country and therefore is delighted to partner with Save the Children Fund to helping students who deserve an opportunity to achieve their goals.
The Scholarship Scheme was for female students studying for a degree in secondary teacher education (Mathematics and Science) by the Government through the NDoE, through a grant from the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) as an Education Sector Plan Implementation Grant towards supporting of BEST PNG.
The Female Teachers Education Scholarship Scheme is part of a comprehensive education BESTPNG program and was developed based on the GPE principle of developing and implementing high quality, equitable and efficient education interventions to improve access and learning outcomes, especially for the most vulnerable students.
Part of the GPE grant proceeds is to support forty female students from underserved target provinces to study Bachelor of Education degree in Secondary Education specializing in Science and/or Mathematics.
In addition, Save the Children mobilized 10 more scholarships from Newcrest Mining Ltd and five (05) from BSP Financial services group Ltd.
The beneficiaries to the scholarships are enrolled at the following Institutions offering a study program leading to Bachelor of Education Degree in Secondary Education with Specialization in Mathematics and/or Science which is the University of Goroka, St Peter Channel Catholic College and Pacific Adventist University.