“Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today”.
-Malcolm X
Education is the passport to the future. It is the vehicle that we drive to arrive at the point where our dreams can be made a reality. Unfortunately, this vehicle has not always been highly accessible to people, especially in this part of the world.
Abdul Ganiy and Abdul Gafar Aderogba thought that they would not be able to have access to a stable vehicle after their second attempt at UTME. Their stories changed when their cousin at Igbinedion University , who was also on the scholarship, introduced them to Rosula Feducation My dream’s scholarship scheme. In an interview with Abdul Ganiy and Abdul Gaffar they explained how they went about their application process “We submitted our credentials and wrote an exam and shortly after we were called and given a list of universities to choose from…” . An Article written about Nigeria’s Higher education revealed that Because there are only enough openings annually for about 20 percent of the qualified applicants, competition for places in higher education is severe, and hence, people’s dreams are dashed.
In order to combat this problem In 1999 the National Universities Commission (NUC), which oversees the university system, approved the creation of private universities. This solution however opened the path to another problem, which is the “affordability of these private institutions”.
ROSULA TO THE RESCUE
Rosula Foundation, , A Non-Governmental organization , is one of the few institutions that have decided to focus on responses rather than the so-called problem. The Education and Scholarship Scheme is a program of Rosula Foundation which is poised with the mandate to use diverse empowerment projects to fulfil the dreams of the teeming less privileged and vulnerable people of Nigeria. They are able to access quality education, for their gain in knowledge through the Foundations’ available resources, and ultimately gain control over their own lives. By this they would contribute meaningfully to their communities and to the society at large.
The scholarship scheme has been in existence for the past 25 years, it commenced in 1998 where it sponsored students in Federal Government institutions. This went on until the early 2000’s that experienced one of the several ASUU strikes that lingered for over a year. The inconsistent academic calendar prompted the Founder to seek for educational institutions that ran a stable academic calendar. This birthed the era of partnerships with private universities in Nigeria. To this end, Rosula Foundation has to date created several initiatives as diverse tools to build, support, nurture and discover talents through the Nigerian educational institutions.
Some of their private partners include Crescent University , Igbinedion University, Afe Babalola University Koladaisi University , Lead City University , Lighthouse polytechnic , and University of Mkar. We interviewed students in Crescent University asking to see how much impact the scholarship had on their lives.
BENEFICIARIES SUCCESS STORIES
AbdulGafar and AbdulGaniyu who have been on the scholarship since 2021 are now in their final years at Crescent University. Both of them are now in 400 level Economics department and are still working hard to ensure they meet up to the requirements.
The Majority of them (the students interviewed) now being in their final year expressed so much joy at how their lives had been changed by the Rosular Scholarship. Surprisingly most of them found out about the scholarships through various ways, some from relatives who had also benefited from the scholarship like Aderogba Abdul-Gafar and Abdul-Ganiy who got to know about the scholarship from a cousin who finished from Igbinedion University.
Or Yusuf Toheeb, a 400 level student ofFinancial Accounting found out about the scholarship through a link on Facebook, Or Bada Abdul Afeez a final year student in the department of Economics.
Gafar and Abdul Ganiyu revealed that every department in Crescent University had at least one student that was a beneficiary of the Rosular Foundation Scholarship. This shows the degree to which the Rosular Foundation has been able to truly touch lives. In order to get the scholarship, Applicants are required to partake in an exam, submit several documents as stated on their website. Applicants are also made to undergo ( physical or virtual) exams and registration after which they are then told their ordeal.
CONDITIONS TO MAINTAIN THE SCHOLARSHIP
The Conditions to remain on this scholarship as explained by Bada Abdul Afeez, were made with the intent to ensure that these students stay on track and not forget the grand opportunity they were afforded. The Students were expected to maintain a minimum of a 3.5 Grade point Average, be of good moral conduct, attend classes regularly and stay away from bad gangs. Abdul Gafar shared with us that he fell short of the requirements at a certain point and lost it, but worked hard to get back on, he said “Alhamdulillah, I am back on now!”
The Nature of these conditions as expressed by Gafar Fathiu, encourages me to read,” They keep me reading In Order to keep my grades up.” Gafar also shared that the scholarship covers the full school fees and even provides them with books to make studying easier.
The best part of the Scholarship differs from one student to the other, but one that stood out to us was that shared by the Twins. Gafar and Ganiyu both shared that “if they were able to maintain their grades and graduate with them, they would have guaranteed jobs after finishing their education…” In these times where graduates are unable to find jobs after years of working hard at University, this promise means a lot.
Another beneficiary, Folakunmi said that the stability that a private institution gives is perhaps the best part. In her own words “I think the best part for me is that i was able to come to a private institution where their calendar is so stable unlike federal institutions…”
This aligns with the very reason private institutions were partnered with, as this stability is important to students and the Organisations.
CHALLENGES OF ROSULA
Unfortunately, the foundation also faces certain challenges that prevent them from being able to have a larger impact. One remains that Rosula foundation has limited partnership. Rosula Foundation is unable to carry out their scholarship on a much larger scale. Although the foundation has its wings spread beyond the borders of Nigeria, there is still a long list of private universities that could also help expand the impact of this scheme.
There is also the problem of Awareness. The scheme is popular but not as popular to drive as the change desired. If more people knew about the scholarship opportunity, the impact of this scheme would be more far reaching.
Another undeniable challenge is the effect of the state of the economy. With hyperinflation, most institutions ( Private and Public) have had to increase fees to keep the institution up and running. This means that there is an increasing amount of financial strain on the foundation and it is becoming increasingly difficult to bear. Abdul Ganiy shared with us that the foundation was currently indebted to the school. He said”because of the increase in school fees, The organisation currently has some debt to pay, he explained that “it’s not because of there’s no money, but because it ( the increment) was not anticipated.”
WAY OUT
These problems however are not without solutions, The Rotary Foundation, the charitable arm of Rotary International, manages extensive scholarship programs and has maintained financial stability through several key strategies such as Diverse Funding Sources: The Foundation supports scholarships through various funding mechanisms, including district grants and global grants. These grants are financed by contributions from Rotary members and fundraising activities, ensuring a broad base of financial support.
Alumni of Rotary’s scholarship programs, such as the Rotary Peace Fellowship and Global Grant Scholarships, often choose to give back to The Rotary Foundation, recognizing the significant impact these opportunities have had on their lives. This support helps sustain and expand these programs for future scholars. The Global Grant Scholarships, which fund graduate-level education in fields aligned with Rotary’s areas of focus.
If Rosular is able to tap into a more diverse funding strategy, introducing Alumni Funding, Endowment Funds and global grants, it will become much easier for the organisation to surf these waves of financial strain.
Due to the time constraint around the coverage of this story, we were not able to interact directly with some of the officials at Rosular Foundation to gain deeper insights about the scheme and some of the challenges encountered as all our attempts to reach them proved futile.
One thing is clear though, the scheme has had such an outstanding impact on the Nigerian education sector but of course the inability of the foundation to expand the impact of this scheme still leaves space for improvements.
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