January 18, 2017 By Hassan Gbassay Koroma
As a way of complementing President Ernest Bai Koroma’s, Recovery Priorities and Agenda for Prosperity in the education sector, the Chinese Ambassador to Sierra Leone, H.E Wu Peng, yesterday awarded scholarships to 15 students from Fourah Bay College, (FBC) Institute of Public Administration and Management (IPAM) and the College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences (COMAHS) respectively.
Speaking during the award ceremony at their Spur Loop Embassy in Freetown, H.E Ambassador Wu Peng, said the scholarship represents the cooperation between the University of Sierra Leone and the Chinese Embassy, which he said signifies their devotion to promoting education in Sierra Leone.
He congratulated the 15 outstanding students, adding that each of them was awarded scholarship for their excellent performances in the past academic year.
He continued that one of the recipient students would be selected and awarded the Chinese Government Scholarship and would have the opportunity to do further studies in China in 2017.
“Ladies and gentlemen, youth are the future of a nation and education creates better future for the young people. President Ernest Bai Koroma announced that he is dedicating his government to the development of youth of his country. The president’s Recovery Priorities and Agenda for Prosperity also focus on the aspects of youth and education of the nation. The Chinese Ambassador’s Scholarship is the response to President Koroma’s efforts for helping youth,” he said.
He said Sierra Leone has been a long-time friend of China, and that the Chinese Government attaches great importance to the field of youth and education in the country’s bilateral cooperation.
He disclosed that since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1971, the Chinese Government has provided more than 500 scholarships to Sierra Leone, and that he wishes to contribute his own part and bring hope to more young students through the Chinese Ambassador’s Scholarship.
He expressed hope that their support would be an encouragement for the hardworking students and would provide them the chance to change their future.
“Last month, President Ernest Bai Koroma visited China and during the fruitful visit, he and Chinese President Xi Jinping witnessed the signing of 6 mutual-beneficial agreements and jointly raised the bilateral relationship to the strategic partnership of Comprehensive Cooperation. I am confident that under this new momentum, the ties between China and Sierra Leone will get closer and closer and more Sierra Leonean young people will benefit from the ties,” he said.
Also speaking at the ceremony, Vice Chancellor of the University of Sierra Leone, Professor Ekundayo Thompson, said the act of awarding scholarships evidenced the deepening of the relationship between the people’s republic of China and the republic of Sierra Leone on one hand, and the process of solidifying the partnership between the Chinese Embassy and the University of Sierra Leone on the other hand.
He said it also evidenced the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Embassy and the university to award 15 scholarships annually to deserving students of the University of Sierra Leone comprising Fourah Bay College, Institute of Public Administration and Management and the College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences.
He further stated that by the award of scholarships, students of the university were supported to pursue further studies in the People’s Republic of China and qualify in various fields of study and practices, adding that the scholarship awards contributed in no small measure to the development of Sierra Leone’s human resource capacity.
“Human Resource Development is the single most important contribution to the overall process of social and economic development of the country. It is the catalyst which not only provides and expands choices which people elect to make, but also sustains growth and induces positive change,” he said.
“Let me, on behalf of the senate and court of the University of Sierra Leone thank, very sincerely the Ambassador for the award and hope that it will further strengthen our relationship. To the awardees, I say hearty congratulations; you were selected for the award because you deserve to be awarded, given your record of work and achievement. We hope that other students will be motivated to work hard and archive.”