PRESS RLEASES

U.S. Scholarships Improve Girls' Access to Quality Basic Education

January 29, 2009

Thursday, January 29, 2009 - U.S. Ambassador Robin Renée Sanders today presented scholarship awards to students in Minna under the Ambassador’s Girls’ Scholarship Program (AGSP) in a ceremony at the Tafsir Hall of New Horizon College, Minna.  The Ambassador will make a similar presentation to students in Keffi, Nassarawa State, on Jan 30.  Highlighting education's importance to development, Ambassador Sanders said AGSP provides an invaluable opportunity to underprivileged children to acquire a quality education, with benefits that will last a lifetime.  Investing in people is one of the central pillars of the U.S. framework for partnership with Nigeria.  "The United States Government seeks to provide assistance that will make a real difference in the lives of people" Ambassador Sanders added.

AGSP is implemented in Niger State and Nassarawa State by the Federation of Muslim Women Associations of Nigeria (FOMWAN).  AGSP is one component of the U.S. Government’s African Education Initiative (AEI) administered on behalf of the U.S. Government and people of America by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).  This education program increases access to quality basic education in Africa by providing scholarships and textbooks, improving teacher training, and strengthening community participation in education.  Since the inception of the program in Nigeria in 2004, a total of 9,149 children attending 411 schools in 13 states have benefited from the program.   There are currently 255 AGSP beneficiaries in 26 schools in Niger State and 235 AGSP beneficiaries in 55 schools in Nassarawa State.  Over the past four years the U.S. Government has provided over $1.2 million in scholarships to underprivileged Nigerian boys and girls. Scholarship recipients are selected by community leaders, school principals, and the facilitating NGO.