Education, as all parents and guardians admit, is a long-term investment with an equally long gestation period, but it is one of the best legacies to bequeath to individuals, groups and society. That has been the belief of Shell Nigeria since 1952. In 2014, $14.8 million was invested in scholarships by the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo).

The University Scholarship Scheme, a programme run by SPDC on behalf of the NNPC/Shell/Elf/Agip Joint Venture, makes a quiet but very profound commentary on the company’s interest in the promotion of capacity building in the country.

Every year, more than 4,000 Nigerian undergraduates write aptitude tests to join the evergrowing list of students which Shell Nigeria supports in Nigerian Universities. The applicants are shortlisted on the basis of the national SSCE and JAMB examination results. This is followed by an aptitude test at the PortHarcourt, Warri, Enugu, Lagos and Abuja centres.

There are two categories of the Scholarship Scheme, the National Merit Award (NM), open to Nigerian undergraduates and Areas of Operation Merit Award (AOM), for students from communities in which Shell Nigeria operates. Only first year students are eligible for the awards in both categories.

An average of 16,000 applicants respond to advertisements by Shell Nigeria every year, inviting qualified candidates to apply for the scholarships which are tenable only in Nigerian Universities.