LIBERIA – Twenty (20) Liberian students departed the country Tuesday, December 13, 2022, for the Ivorian capital, Yamoussoukro, on a full, 4-year scholarship at the prestigious Félix Houphouët-Boigny National Polytechnique Institute.
The students, many of whom are recent high school graduates ranging from ages 18 to 22, left Liberia via the Roberts International Airport at about 9 A. M on Asky Airlines.
They will specialize in civil engineering, Industrial Engineering Sciences, and Technologies, Mining, Geology, and Agricultural Engineering Technologies as well as information and Communication Sciences and technologies among others.
Speaking moments before their departure, the young Liberian scholars were full of praise for the Weah- led administration and First Lady Clar M. Weah whose office has been coordinating the project in collaboration with stakeholders.
The group of students marks the 3rd cohort, bringing to nearly 60, the number of Liberians currently studying in Yamoussoukro under the Joint Liberia, French Development Agency (AFD) and Félix Houphouët-Boigny National Polytechnique Institute Training Project.
The project is one of the dividends of President Weah’s first state visit to Paris in 2018 where he sought the support of the French government through his counterpart, President Emmanuel Macron for youth capacity development in Liberia.
Youth development and empowerment is an integral part of President George Manneh Weah’s Pro-poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development, PAPD.
Through this scholarship program along with several major initiatives, the President wants to transform the lives of young people, enabling them to contribute to the development of their dearest country, Liberia.
The batch of 20 students was selected out of about a thousand applicants following a rigorous vetting process which included an aptitude test in French language Arts, chemistry, physics, and mathematics.