SAGICOR Group Jamaica has awarded 50 renewable tertiary scholarships to young Jamaicans through its charitable arm, Sagicor Foundation, as it continues its 50th anniversary corporate social responsibility initiatives.

The number of scholarships represents a 100 per cent increase over the average scholarships awarded each year to students at the tertiary level.

The scholarships, valued at up to $300,000 each, were given to students who are pursuing their first degrees at The University of the West Indies; University of Technology, Jamaica; The Mico University College; Northern Caribbean University; Caribbean Maritime University; Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts; and the University of the Commonwealth Caribbean. The scholarships are renewable once students maintain a grade point average of 3.0 or higher, and complete at least 40 voluntary hours with the Sagicor Foundation.

According to Sagicor, following a thorough shortlisting and interview process, the 50 scholars were selected from a pool of 2,100 applications. Applicants were ranked based on their academic performance, community involvement and volunteerism, strong leadership potential, and financial need.

In addition to the renewable scholarships, the foundation also awarded three educational grants valued at $100,000 each to tertiary students, taking them one step closer to funding their education and accomplishing their dreams.

The Sagicor Foundation also provided 21 scholarships valued at $50,000 to students who performed exceptionally well in the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) examination, and have matriculated to high school. The secondary scholarships are renewable for five years, once the awardees maintain an average of 80 per cent and above.

In addition to the 50 scholarships in honour of the company’s 50th anniversary, Dr R Danny Williams, Sagicor Foundation Chairman, said the increase has come at a very critical time when the novel coronavirus pandemic is negatively impacting the livelihood of so many families, leading to an even greater need for financial resources to fund the education of their children.

“Sagicor Foundation understands and appreciates that now more than ever students will need financing support to fund their education, and we wanted to assist as many of those students as possible,” Williams said.

The Sagicor Foundation chairman said the scholarship programme is a pivotal initiative undertaken annually to assist bright, young and promising Jamaicans and give them an opportunity to excel and accomplish their dreams despite their socio-economic reality.

“For Sagicor, these scholarships are an encouragement to our scholars to continue to push toward achieving their goals,” Williams added.

The scholarships were awarded to children of Sagicor clients and team members.