Are you battling with dwindling resources or mounting college debt while struggling to keep up your grades? The MTN Foundation Scholarship could be the answer to your funding problems…

As always, Smartbukites is ever ready to help ease your academic and career struggles. In this article, you will learn how to apply and take advantage of this golden opportunity. After all, when resources are scarce, a sliver of opportunity is a gold mine.

Background Information

MTN Foundation was incorporated in 2004 and commissioned in May 2005 as an offshoot of MTN Nigeria Communication PLC. Over the years, the initiative has contributed greatly to Education, Health and Economic empowerment, with over 900 progressive projects. The foundation has invested over N21 Billion in such projects across the federation. Funding was made possible by committing up to 1% of the Telecommunication giant’s Profit after Tax.

To further see to the attainment of its noble goals, the foundation often collaborates with reputable partner organisations. This has made MTN Foundation to be one of the most credible non-profit establishments functioning in the country. Hence the rush for its scholarship applications.

About the Scholarship Schemes

The prestigious MTN Foundation has two ongoing scholarship programs – The MTN STSS and the MTN SSBS. The title of each scholarship is note-worthy. The MTN STSS is an acronym for MTN Science and Technology Scholarship Scheme while MTN SSBS stands for MTN Scholarship Scheme for Blind Students (MTN SSBS).

As the names of the schemes imply, the STSS is targeted at students studying science and technology-related courses while the SSBS is for vision-impaired students. Both Scholarships are under the Youth Empowerment Cause and have been running successfully for close to a decade.

MTN Scholarship Worth

Successful applicants are entitled to a decent sum of N200,000 which covers tuition, stipends and book allowances. This sum is remitted yearly from the award year till graduation, provided the awardees maintain their good grades and don’t violate the terms and conditions.

In addition, the awardees have the chance to join employability workshops hosted by the foundation. They may also be able to secure mentorship, further their education and be part of the MTNF Scholarship Alumni. Interesting, right? This shows that the award is far more than just financial assistance for students. It’s a window to innumerable opportunities!

The key to securing such offers starts from the application process itself. Therefore, to boost your chances, you need to make sure you follow all guidelines judiciously. Read on to get more accustomed to the eligibility requirements, terms and application procedure.

MTN Scholarship Terms and Conditions

Endeavour to read carefully before applying

All information provided will be verified and persons with fraudulent information will be held accountable.
Multiple applications may result in disqualification.
Only applications from eligible applicants will be considered.
Current Beneficiaries of the MTN Foundation Science & Technology Scholarship award are not eligible to apply
The MTN Foundation reserves the right to cancel or suspend a scholarship award if it is discovered that an applicant /awardee provided false information.
Names of successful candidates will be published in National Dailies and the successful awardees would be contacted through SMS, e-mail or both.
Mode of application is online, via the foundation’s website.
Incomplete Applications will be disregarded.

18th June, 2023 is the application deadline.

MTN Scholarship Eligibility

MTN Foundation scholarships are open to students studying at certain levels in accredited tertiary institutions in Nigeria. Nigerian citizens studying in Nigerian Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education, as well as international students residing and studying in the country, may be awarded. Eligible applicants are those who meet the schemes’ requirements and aren’t already scholarship beneficiaries.

Eligible Levels

According to the MTNF official website: both scholarships are open to 300-level Nigerian students studying in the approved disciplines.

STSS which is currently in its 12^th year is open to 300-level Nigerian students studying in the approved disciplines.
- 300 successful students are awarded the scholarship annually till graduation if they maintain the required grade.

SBSS which is currently in its 10^th year is open to 200 level Blind Nigerian students studying any course in Nigerian Public Tertiary Institutions.
- 60 successful blind students are awarded the scholarship annually till graduation if they maintain the required grade.

Top 10 UTME Scholarship: which commenced in 2020, is the latest addition to the MTN Scholarships. Every year the top 10 scoring candidates of UTME as announced by JAMB, automatically qualify for the scholarship. The successful candidates will be awarded the scholarship from their 100 level through to graduation if they maintain the required grades.
- The Top 10 UTME Scholarship is awarded irrespective of the successful candidates’ preferred course of study or Tertiary Institution – Public or Private in Nigeria.

Required Grade (CGPA)

Applicants from public Universities and Colleges of Education must have a minimum Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) score of 3.5 or its equivalent (2:1)
Applicants from public Polytechnics must have a minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0 (upper credit) from the Ordinary National Diploma (OND) programme and must have secured admission into the Higher National Diploma Programme (HND).
SSBS Applicants must have and maintain a minimum CGPA of 2.5 on a 5-point scale or its equivalent.

Eligible Disciplines

The STSS is targeted at bright 3rd-year Students in any of the following disciplines:

Accountancy/Accounting
Agric. Extension and Rural Development
Agricultural Science
Agronomy
Animal Nutrition
Animal Production and Health
Aquaculture and Fisheries Management
Applied Physics
Architecture
Chemical Engineering
Civil Engineering
Computer Engineering
Computer Science
Electrical Engineering
Electrical/Electronics Engineering
Electronics and Computer Technology
Electronics Engineering
Engineering Physics
Industrial Mathematics
Industrial Physics
Information Technology
Mathematics
Mechanical Engineering
Metallurgical and Materials Engineering
Petroleum and Gas Engineering
Physics Electronics
Geophysics
Physics/ Computational Modeling
Pure/ Applied Physics
Statistics
Statistics and Computer Science
System Engineering

Before You Apply…

Before you can fill out the application form for the MTN Foundation Scholarship, you will need to input some details. They include:

Which Scholarship are you applying for? Here, you’re required to select between STSS and SBSS scholarships.
What is your Gender? Choose between Male and Female.
What Type of Tertiary Institution Do You Attend? Select your institution type (Public or Private).
What is the classification of your tertiary institution? Choose among the given options: University, Polytechnic, or College of Education.
What is your current year of study? Select your year of study. Note that MTN Scholarships are mostly targeted at students in their 2nd or 3rd year, depending on the type of scholarship.
Select your Department/Programme of Study. Choose from a number of eligible programmes included in a drop-down menu. In case you’re studying a programme which is not on the list, Click on ‘Other’.
What is your current CGPA? Type your current CGPA in the space provided. Don’t think of modifying yours to meet the specified requirements, though. Most scholarship bodies request for official transcripts or signed statements of results to support CGPA claims. Supplying dishonest information may lead to losing the award in addition to other penalties. Learn how to calculate your CGPA.

MTN Scholarship Application Procedure

Time needed: 20 minutes.

How to apply for MTN Scholarship:
Care needs to be taken while applying for this valuable scholarship. Before the actual application, terms and conditions need to be studied and followed to the letter. You should therefore ensure to apply when eligible and ready to meet all requirements.

Since it’s an online application, the process is not much of a big deal. The application link directs an applicant to the forms that need to be completed. The procedure can be categorized into a number of consecutive steps:

Category Selection
Interested and eligible applicants are expected to log onto the foundation’s official scholarship portal https://www.mtnonline.com/scholarships/ to access the page. The applicants can then choose their respective categories and proceed to the form-filling stage.
Basic Personal Information
Selecting a category leads an applicant to the first form page, where basic personal information is filled in. Note that the asterisked fields are ‘required. Also, take care to input your names in the order they appear in your credentials to avoid confusion.
More Personal Information
Additional personal information such as contact information is keyed in next. Ensure to supply your standard e-mail and phone number(s) to facilitate hitch-free communication.
JAMB/UTME Information
The next page on the form, as shown below, requires information on candidates’ UTME registration number mode and year of admission, etc. Candidates are also expected to truthfully answer the asterisked field pertaining to their scholarship status. It’s common knowledge that most scholarship programs are explicitly against the acceptance of multiple scholarships at the same time. This is so that the funds may reach the intended beneficiaries, especially those who may otherwise not be able to sponsor themselves or be sponsored through school despite their dedication.
Basic Institution Details
Information regarding candidates’ institutions of study is required next. This includes the name of the institution as well as the students’ respective faculties and departments.
Additional Institution Details
More details about students’ institution of study are required next. The course duration, study mode and CGPA are to be supplied here. There’s also an asterisked field enquiring ‘Who pays your fees?’ The key to this may be that the foundation is trying to sieve through the applicants in order to award the scholarship to deserving candidates that are more in need.
High School Information
Basic information about the high school (secondary school) attended and graduated from comes next. There are also spaces provided for a number of O’ Level certificate examination sittings and extracurricular activities.
High School Grades
Students’ O’ Level grades as reflected on their school-leaving certificates are meant to be accurately filled in next. Make sure you cross-check to avoid making any mistakes.
Next of Kin Details
Details of next of kin, including contact information and relationship are input next. Candidates are then required to check the box at the bottom, indicating that they’ve accepted all terms and conditions before submission of the application.

As a precautionary measure, endeavour to scroll back and cross-check all your entries before submission to avoid errors.

Note that:
- Corrections can’t be made after submission
- Incomplete applications will be disregarded.
- Multiple applications may result in disqualification.

Studying the Scholarship’s Trend

The aforementioned information may let you know if you’re eligible to secure this year’s MTN Foundation scholarship award. But that’s not all. It has been noticed that many qualified applicants fail to get the scholarship due to one reason or the other. One such reason is its competitive nature. Annually, tens of thousands apply, and about a couple thousand get shortlisted but the successful candidates are less than a thousand.

This implies that one needs to boost his/her chances of securing the award. There are many qualified applicants out there, but it takes more than a set of glowing credentials to be among the lucky ones.

To be successful, you’ll have to complement your certificates with smart brains. For example, while many of those thousands of applicants are waiting for their shortlisting, or lack of it, many smart ones are already practising for the aptitude test. The wisdom in that? When you fail to prepare, you automatically prepare to fail. Plus, no knowledge is a waste. Practice paves the way for success and great opportunities.

Conclusion

Studying the trend that the scholarship program has been following for almost a decade is a good starting point. Come to think of it, many eligible applicants lose out on such golden opportunities due to a lack of awareness. So what are you waiting for? Here are a number of tips from previous beneficiaries and other reliable sources:

Qualified applicants may be required to write essays on specified topics. Ensure you write well, edit appropriately and don’t exceed the word limit. It is very important to be proactive in a bid to meet the deadline. Here also, the issue of frequently checking your mail pops up. The deadline for submission is mostly a few days from the date the mail is sent.
The Aptitude test is usually scheduled a few weeks later in designated centres across the country. Transport stipends may be made available.
The Computer-based Aptitude test usually lasts for 2 hours and it covers basic educational areas. The areas include Mathematics/Arithmetic, English Comprehension, Quantitative Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning, Logical Reasoning, Analogy, Information Technology and Current Affairs/General Knowledge. Don’t fret, there are only a few questions from each aspect.

Read this far? Congratulations, you’re better equipped to secure the prestigious MTN Foundation scholarship.

Interested and eligible? Apply!

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