Hanoi (VNA) – Disadvantaged studentswith outstanding academic results in the 2017-2018 academic year in the MekongDelta will receive scholarships from the “Vietnamese Seeds Fund” by the Nhandan (People’s) newspaper for the first time this year.

Nguyen Hong Sam, head of the newspaper’s bureauin Can Tho city, told a press conference in the locality on August 13 that thescholarships will be funded by the Lien Viet Post JSC Commercial Bank.

Established in 2012, the fund aims to step upthe campaign for building a more educated society, which involves improving thequality of learning at secondary schools located in wards and communesnationwide.

The awards ceremony is due to take place at CanTho University on August 18, honouring 1,300 students from primary, secondary,and high schools across 13 regional cities and provinces.

Each scholarship will be worth 3 million VND(132 USD) which will granted to 100 students from each locality, at a totalcost of 3.9 billion VND.

According to the Ministry of Education andTraining, the rate of school dropouts in the Mekong Delta remains high comparedto that in the Central Highlands and northwest, standing at 0.45 percent inelementary schools, 3.26 percent in secondary schools, and 3.94 percent in highschools.

It is largely attributed to the poor livingconditions of many households, forcing children to leave school and earn aliving in order to cover simple daily needs.

The scholarship programme looks to encourage theirstudies and support tens of thousands of poor students with excellent academicperformances, thereby ensuring the welfare of society and nurturing youngtalent.–VNA