Some winners of the UNICAF Essay Competition have commended the initiatives of the online education provider, noting that its affordability and quality made it attractive to beneficiaries.
UNICAF, an online platform, which offers degrees to students in different fields, is being run in collaboration with reputable universities in the United Kingdom, United States, Europe, and Africa.
During its recent essay competition themed, “Higher education of international quality shaping the leaders of tomorrow in Nigeria and in Africa,” the overall winner of the competition, a Diction and Phonetics teacher from Iyana-Ipaja, Folashade Shodipo, said the UNICAF Scholarship Programme was helping to enhance higher education in Nigeria.
Shodipo, who won a full scholarship to pursue a Master’s of Business Administration with UNICAF University, with an additional monetary reward of N100,000, said, “It is one of the best ways for Nigerians to get access to higher education through online study because it is all-encompassing and the teaching personnel is qualified and experienced.”
She lamented that university education in Nigeria was getting more expensive but expressed the belief that UNICAF, as a credible, flexible and affordable choice, would contribute to the growth of the nation’s educational system.
The beneficiary urged universities in the country to emulate UNICAF’s concept for access to affordable and credible higher education.
The first runner up of the competition, a teacher from Lagos State, Chekwube Okeke, who won a scholarship to pursue a short course on professional development with UNICAF University, plus N50,000 cash prize, said, “The younger generation should not give up in the pursuit of higher education because of how expensive it has become, but they should strive hard to increase their knowledge and skills.”
He stressed that information was now on their fingertips, saying, “The Nigerian government should help in establishing more online providers of higher learning and higher education should become more practical, pragmatic and less theoretical.”
Emmanuel Babatope Famokun, a Communications Consultant and second runner-up, stressed that he was inspired by UNICAF’s concept of quality higher education, online, rather than being confined within the four walls of a
classroom.
Famokun, who won a full scholarship to pursue a short course on development with UNICAF University, urged Nigerians to tap into the available opportunities.
The UNICAF scholarship has, so far, been extended to no fewer than 15,000 beneficiaries.