MORE THAN 10 000 BENEFIT FROM OPEEAL MNANGAGWA SCHOLARSHIP

THE OPEEAL Mnangagwa Scholarship Scheme has now surpassed its initial target of covering, at least 10 000 students, in the wake of more beneficiaries being added to the programme.

More than 2000 tertiary students have been roped into the scheme, taking the overall number to more than 10 000 since the inception of this scheme.

This follows the 1600 students who were added into the programme in October last year.

Most of the beneficiaries last year were from the country’s polytechnics in what was a deliberate move given that these students had been overlooked for some time.

Ambassador Uebert Angel sponsors the scheme from his own resources, without recourse to public or government funds, and it was founded in honour of President Mnangagwa.

“We have now added more than 2000 new students, from across the country, to the OPEAAL Mnangagwa Scholarship Scheme,” a spokesperson told H-Metro yesterday.

“Before this, we added, at least, 1600 new students and, just like the latest round of beneficiaries, they were also drawn from across the country.

“This has taken the number of beneficiaries to more than 10 000, which means that we have surpassed our initial target and we want to make it clear that we have been humbled by the overwhelming response and we are going to revise our target.

“What has emerged is that more students still need a helping hand and it is our mission to ensure that we help as many students as we can.

“This is an investment into the future of this country because these students are the men and women who will play key roles as our beautiful nation marches forward.”

Added the spokesperson:

“Once again, we emphasise that this initiative is apolitical and our decision to rope in more than 2000 students this year once again proves wrong claims by some mischievous people who were claiming that our scholarship programme was just for the elections and everything would stop after then polls.”

While most scholarships target students based on their outstanding academic qualities, the OPEAAL Mnangagwa Scholarship targets those bright but vulnerable students unlikely to pursue their studies because of financial challenges.