SPDC commits to Cradle-to-Career continuity

Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has renewed its commitment to the sponsorship of its juiciest scholarship programme, Cradle-to-Career (C2C), which seeks out brainy but poor pupils and spring them to the best schools for the super-rich and watch their performance.

The highly expensive scholarship scheme not only sends such pupils to Ivy Colleges that charge about N3 million per annum, SPDC also bankrolls the cost of their personal upkeep in and out of school to enable them live the new standard. The scholarship runs from end of primary school in a rural community to the highest educational standard the award-winner can go until the take-off of a career.

The general manager, external relations of SPDC, Igo Weli, who disclosed the recommitment weekend, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, said despite the recession and crash of the oil business, that SPDC and the joint venture partners were not prepared to jettison C2C.

He spoke at the inauguration ceremony of the seventh batch of 60 pupils from their host states (Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta). The students are usually shared to partner schools this time made up of Brookstone, Jephthah, ABEC, and Bloombreed, all in Port Harcourt.

Instead of going back, SPDC said it had rather gone nationwide to embrace pupils from all states of Nigeria to give gifted pupils from very poor backgrounds a chance to test themselves on the children of the rich. Weli said the national version began in 2015 with 60 pupils but would expand to 110 this year.

The general manger, who did not disclose the annual budget for the project confirmed that it is expensive to give such quality of education and upbringing to such large number of young persons in the country. He said SPDC would like to send thousands of pupils to Ivy schools but that the philanthropy must march the business capacity of the sponsoring company.

He however urged youths from the oil region to explore several other educational schemes from the SPDC JV such as university scholarship, post graduate scholarship, Shell cup, etc.

The Elelenwo-born manager expressed appreciation to the governments of the three states and parents that have supported the scheme over the years. He pointed to the results posted by some of the graduating students such as Isaiah Inaibo and Opiritari Kolubowei who made uncountable number of distinction in several subjects.

Representatives of the states ministries of education commended SPDC for the impact-making project but some called for more support in education. They also urged the students not to toy with the once-in-a lifetime opportunity in their palms but to fight with all their lives to make the nation proud.