This year marks a decade since the Equality Scholarship started. No one knows the joy this school bursary has brought to the lives of the 72 beneficiaries like pioneer students, some of whom will be graduating this year from university. “I’m excited that my journey of education has come to this point successfully because I had all the provisions I needed thanks to sponsorship from Nile Breweries. I was a simple village boy but I got a world class education from a prestigious school. I’m optimistic about my future now,” said Peter Emuru. Emuru who studied for his secondary school in Ntare High School graduated last month with a BSc Computer Science from Lira University.
He shared his testimony during the cheque handover event for current university beneficiaries held on April 29that NBL head offices in Luzira. The 30 students received UGX 80 Million to meet their 2021 tuition and welfare expenses. The event was attended by university students, MoES officials, parents and university representatives. The Equality Scholarship has since 2011 benefited the best PLE performing pupil in selected districts, largely in areas that grow sorghum and barley for NBL. The students are supported from Senior One until university, with the currently enrolled students costing the company UGX 300M a year and approximately UGX 3Bn to complete their undergraduate studies. In total the number of students currently is 72, with 42 in secondary school and 30 in University.
“The amount of money we are spending on these students is no longer the focus. This scholarship has gone above and beyond to create impact as you can hear from the testimonies,” said Onapito Ekomoloit, Legal& Corporate Affairs Director. He thanked parents and guardians for accepting to be part of the scholarship and acknowledged the fact that there are many schemes out there but ES has stood the test of time and proved that it makes a difference.
David Valencia, Managing Director NBL, challenged the students to dream big, be resilient and tireless in the pursuit of their dream now that they have a chance at a good education through the ES. “We believe that the private sector can and should lend a hand and together we can uplift Ugandan Youth. As a major player in Uganda’s economy and therefore the community, our mandate is to bring people together for a better world. This is possible via our CSRs like this scholarship which create a positive impact on the communities and the environment,” Valencia said. He thanked the Ministry of Education and Sport and Makerere University for working with NBL to boost the education of youth.
Ms Mercy Mugoowa, Principle Education Officer, Higher Education, Admissions & Scholarships applauded NBL for working towards Sustainable Development Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all, also known as Education 2030.MsMugoowarepresented the Commission Higher Education Ms Jolly Uzamukunda at the event. Likewise, Associate Professor Dr Josephine Nabukenya, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Finance and administration) Makerere University re-echoed the need for equitable education, particularly gender equality. She revealed that the Makerere University Council during its 147th Meeting held in August 2019 approved the Affirmative Action Policy providing for a 40 percent enrolment quota for female students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). 14 of the ES beneficiaries study at Makerere University. Three (3) of the four (4) females in the cohort of continuing students at Makerere University are pursuing STEM-based programmes.
Other universities where students are enrolled include Soroti University, Lira University, Ndejje University, Kampala International University, Busitema University, Kyambogo University, Kyambogo University, University of Oran1Algeria among others.