No fewer than 16 undergraduate students last Monday benefited from the one N1 million Halliburton Energy Service’s scholarship grant in Akwa Ibom State.

The Manager, Administration and Travel Management of the firm, Rev. Uche Samue, who presented the cheques to the students, said the scholarship was to lessen their financial burden in school.

He added that it would be renewable every academic year base on their academic performance and advised the beneficiaries to see the funds as a “life line’’ given to them to relief their parents/sponsors of financial burden.

Samuel charged the students to make good use of the opportunity they have by studying very hard and come out with good results in their examinations.

According to Samuel, their good results will be a prerequisite for continuous benefits from the scheme stating that the firm places so much importance on education because of the long term benefit it would bring to the host communities in which they operate.

One of the beneficiaries, Miss Inyang John, an indigene of Iwuo-achang community in Ibeno LGA, studying Medical Laboratory Science in the University of Calabar, expressed appreciation for the gesture. She said that the company had rescued her from paying exorbitant school fees.

John, a two-time beneficiary said the grant had made her concentrate on her study and her performance had also improved a lot which had reflected in her grades.

She promised that the money received would be used solely for the purpose it was meant for in order not to disappoint the company for its generosity.

The scholarship is a joint venture of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mobil Producing Nigeria unlimited (MPN) and Halliburton.

The beneficiaries are from communities of Ibeno, Eket, Esit Eket and Onna Local Government Areas.