About the Scholarship Program
CGWEF works to support some of the world’s poorest children. We offer children in some of the most vulnerable communities in Africa, hope for their future through educational opportunities and a chance at life in Christ. We offer scholarships to secondary level schools as well as vocational schools, and try to connect them to community through the various churches available in their area.
Globally, 35% of all out-of-school children of primary age, 25% of all out-of-school adolescents of lower secondary age, and 18% of all out-of-school youth of upper secondary age live in war zones, also called conflict-affected areas. For this reason alone, most all of our students are in boarding schools, which makes it far easier to control their environment, and build a safety net around them.
High School & Vocational Scholarships
In most African countries, Primary education is free for 8 years and compulsory (if there is a school in the village) between the ages of 7 and 12. Secondary education past grade 8 must be paid for by the family and costs range from $600 (US) per year and up. Lower Secondary school covers grades 9 - 10 (from the lower-teen years (approximately ages 13 - 16), while Upper Secondary school covers grades 11 and 12 (ages 17 - 18).
Objectives For The Collins Geigert World Education Foundation
The Collins Geigert World Education Foundation has the goal of helping poor and orphaned children get the education they need to help them succeed and bring opportunities to themselves, their communities, and their countries. We have a clear set of rules for identifying recipients and a clear procedure for monitoring their education and helping them succeed but just as importantly holding our students to account.
Goals for the Foundation
We strive for the best outcome for the students we accept. We have a rigorous review policy before accepting students into our scholarship program and we and the students work together to achieve our set goals.
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To select motivated and academically strong students from poor families.
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To bridge the gap between lower secondary and upper secondary (high school) level education.
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To increase scholars’ opportunities to access higher education and employment.
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To raise students’ awareness of new opportunities available to them.
Finding and Identifying Prospective Scholars
Students are recommended to us by a variety of means. Sometimes current students recommend friends to us. In other instances religious leaders, extended family, or medical service providers point out young people who they believe would make a good candidate.
After a potential student is found we take steps to interview as many people who know them as possible. This helps to ensure that the potential student is motivated, appreciative of the help and likely to try their best to succeed.
Admissions Procedure
Students are enrolled in a local school where feasible and when the local school is deemed to be sufficiently supported by the local community. Otherwise, and especially if the child is orphaned with no local family, it is possible that a boarding school which is on our list as a quality institution is a better option. Accounts for books, tuition, and living expenses are set up and living arrangements are made.
Monitoring Progress and Mentoring Our Students
We have developed a multi-step approach to monitor and evaluate scholars’ progress in school. Our staff or assigned responsible adults will visit the scholars once every term. Their teachers will act as advisors and will support us in mentoring and monitoring the students. Students will submit written reports {at least once per term to share their reflections and highlight issues that they encounter during the academic period.
Identifying Problems, Underperforming Students and Who Is At Risk For Dropping Out Of The Scholarship Program.
We take great efforts to monitor key indicators that researchers have identified as indicative of who is most likely to drop out and include:
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Poor class attendance.
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Low grades.
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Failure to be promoted to the next grade level.
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Disengagement in the classroom, including behavioral problems.
The Scholarship Team will exercise every effort to identify the underlying reason/s for poor scholastic applications by talking to the student’s teachers, friends, parents/guardians, and other students with a three chances approach.
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On the first offense, a written warning will be issued to the scholar outlining the offense committed.
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On the second offense, a final written warning will be issued outlining the offense committed and the possible consequence.
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On the third offense, a dismissal letter will be issued to the scholar. The Scholarship Manager must note all the actions taken chronologically and include a summary of the follow up meetings. If the committee has decided to terminate the scholarship student, the following steps should be carefully observed:
Additionally, the assigned adult Monitor will approach the student personally to have the student explain the reasons why the performance has been so poor.
If the student is to be terminated, an update to the status of the student’s profile will be switched from “Active” to “Terminated” and the date of termination. The Scholarship Manager must list all the actions taken chronologically during the termination process in the Journal Entry field on the database.
Dropout and Scholarship Termination Procedure
Every effort should be extended to identify the underlying reason for a dropout and try to bring the student back to school (by talking to teachers, friends, parents/guardians, and other students). The termination process will be initiated if the student has committed a serious offense such as involvement in drugs, crimes, or serious misbehavior.
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The scholarship student MUST write a letter to the Foundation stating that he/she is dropping out from school and the reasons why.
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In the case that the scholarship student cannot be contacted to write the letter, we will acquire a letter of confirmation from the host school stating that the scholarship student has been dropped out from our support and will not be able to continue with less that a C- over-all grade point.
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The school and parents of the scholarship student will be informed through an official letter that the scholarship has been withdrawn/cancelled.
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In the database, the Manager will update the status from “active” to “dropped”.
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The remaining money will be used to the end of the term by the scholarship student, and then terminated.
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An additional entry field will be provided and must be filled in with details of Dropout date, Reason, and a Journal Entry which includes the Personal Observation about the student, Actions Taken to bring the student back to school, and Mode of contact (i.e. through mobile, home visit, a teacher or parents).
Once a student has been withdrawn from the program, he or she cannot return at a later date without re-applying to the program, via the normal admissions process.
Successful Graduation for Foundation Scholors
In the database, the Manager will update the status from “active” to GRADUATED.
Post-graduation, Job Mentoring, and Follow-up
We are always there to help with job interviewing tips, offering guidance on life decisions and making sure our former students remain part of our extended family.