Chevening
By Temitope Ponle
Abuja, July 18, 2018 (NAN) The UK Government says it has intensified efforts at encouraging more People Living with Disabilities (PLWD) in Nigeria to take advantage of its Chevening Scholarship.
The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Amb. Paul Arkwright said this in Abuja on Wednesday at a workshop on UK Chevening Scholarships for PLWDs.
Cue in audio (Arkwright)
“We’ve always encouraged people with disabilities to apply, but we’ve discovered that in reality it is difficult for people to apply that do not know how to go about it.
“So, we’ve decided to be more proactive and we’ve taken the initiative to invite people with disabilities to come to the high commission to understand more about the process so that we can help them through application and help them understand what it involves.
“Ánd it has been great to meet them; two of our Chevening scholars who are about to go to the UK who are living with disabilities, to be inspired by them and I hope that the large group of people we’ve got here today are successful.”
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The workshop was aimed at getting more PLWDs to apply for Chevening Scholarships in line with the UK Government policy of inclusion.
It was also organised in line with activities to mark the Global Disability Summit to be hosted in London on July 24.
Arkwright said that 50 applications for 2017 were from people with disabilities and two were awarded scholarships.
“In the past we have had two or three over the years and it will be great to increase the numbers,” he added.
The envoy also said that the UK Secretary of State for International Affairs and Minister for Women and Equalities, Penny Mordaunt MP, would visit Nigeria on Thursday ahead of the Global Disability Summit.
He said: “Next week in London, there is a Global Disability Summit; it is the centrepiece of the British Government to improve the lives of people living with disabilities around the world.
“The summit will be hosted by Senior Minister Secretary of State for International Development and she is coming to Nigeria tomorrow and one of the things she will be doing is talking about disabilities with the Vice President and Women Affairs Minister.”
The high commissioner added that he would pay a courtesy visit to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.
He said that the aim of the visit is to “to raise the question of accessibility for people with disabilities for the elections in 2019.
“It is not acceptable in Nigeria that people with disabilities are not able to vote and if you cannot participate then you cannot have your voice heard,” he said.
One of the awardees of the scholarship, Mr Sunday David encouraged participants at the workshop to take the application process “with all seriousness and commitment”.
Sunday was awarded a scholarship to study Software Development at the Coventry University in London.
The Chevening Scholarships Programme commenced in 1983 as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Awards Scheme and is funded by the British Government’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
These scholarships are awarded to outstanding professionals from countries globally to pursue a one-year master’s degree in any subject at any UK university.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that about 1, 200 Nigerians have benefitted from the scholarships since its inception. (NAN)
TOP/YEE
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Edited by Emmanuel Yashim