Sterling Bank Launches Work-Study Program in Partnership with Nexford University, United States
Sterling Bank Plc, one of Nigeria’s leading financial institution has launched a new initiative, ‘Grow with Sterling,’ to enable secondary school leavers to have access to international education while working part-time for the bank.
The initiative, which is in line with Sterling Bank’s focus: Health, Education, Agriculture, Renewable Energy and Transportation (HEART) will be carried out in partnership with Nexford University, Washington DC, United States. The ‘Grow with Sterling’ initiative is a social impact program organized to support Secondary school leavers in Nigeria as they continue to progress on their education.
Taking education as a top priority, the bank recently signed an agreement with Nexford University to sponsor and enable secondary school leavers in Nigeria to complete their first degree under a 3-year duration. Beneficiaries will also take up engagements with the bank; serving specific positions and capacities in a work-study arrangement, to acquire hands-on experience.
He said,
“Grow with Sterling initiative is a co-branded social impact programme that will enable secondary school leavers to further their education under a unique partnership arrangement with the bank as financier and Nexford University as the learning provider.”
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Sterling bank aims to function as a significant contributor and investor in the education of young Nigerians. Temi Dalley further said that the bank will pay not less than 65% of the tuition fee program, among other benefits like: complimentary access to 20% tuition discount and free enrollment on learning platforms.
Sterling Bank, through its educational investment scheme has helped to improve financial literacy education in young people by distributing about 10,000 copies of the bank’s financial literacy book titled ‘Me and my Money’ in Nigeria. It has also partnered with stakeholders and government in the educational sector to raise the standards of education in the sector.
Sterling Bank also disbursed personal loans of more than ₦2billion to members of staff of educational institutions through Specta, its online lending platform which has improved and helped teachers achieve their goals. The bank also sponsored about 85 teachers for certificate courses at the Queensland University through the One Million Teachers initiatives as well as trained over 1,000 teachers at its quarterly face-to-face trainings by the Teaching Network Foundation (TNF).
Other contributions of Sterling Bank to Nigeria’s educational sector includes but not limited to hostel construction projects in tertiary institutions and the provision of state-of-the-art e-library at the College of Education, Ikere, Ekiti.