AIA’s Higher Education Scholarships Programme, now in its 23rd consecutive year, rewards the top performer from each district at the Grade 5 scholarship examination, by giving them a monthly bursary from Advanced Level (A/L) class right up to the completion of their University degree.
Started in 1994, the programme was initiated to lend a hand to Sri Lanka’s brightest and most promising students, as they are the future of our nation. AIA scholarships do not require the winners to be an AIA Insurance customer, but awards are purely based on academic merit.
This year’s Chief Guest Deepal Sooriyaarachchi inspired the students by sharing his own personal experiences and emphasized the importance of not giving into distractions and instead being focused on your goals. He concluded his speech with the words, "lead a life with an attitude of gratitude."
Inspired by Deepal's speech, a bright-eyed scholarship winner Charuka from the Ratnapura District shared her thoughts and dreams with the audience. She extended her thanks to AIA Sri Lanka for the support provided to students like herself who have worked hard and persevered to face the A/L examination and try to gain entry to University. She said that AIA’s Higher Education bursary will come in most useful for her tertiary education since it will give her the financial security to focus fully on her studies and not worry about finding money for her text books and other educational needs.
AIA CEO Pankaj Banerjee congratulated the students; "You have made your communities, your parents, your schools, your teachers and your country proud. You are indeed an asset to the country.” He added “as a company that is vested in the development of the country we are happy that we were able to contribute in a small way towards the future of these bright and deserving young men and women."
So far, 575 Year 5 students have qualified for the AIA Higher Education Scholarship when they enter A/L and 425 students have already started receiving the bursary. Many of them have gone on to reach top designations is various fields, including reputed doctors, respected lawyers and skilled engineers.
Photo Caption: The scholarship winners with AIA CEO Pankaj Banerjee and Chief Guest Deepal Sooriyaarachchi
