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The top-scoring candidate in the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME), Kamsiyochukwu Umeh Precious, alongside her teachers and two other students, will share a total ₦3.25 million reward package.
The cash gift was a pledge by the Chief Executive Officer and President of Erisco Foods Limited, Dr Eric Umeofia, who disclosed that Kamsiyochukwu will walk away with ₦2.5 million.
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) announced Umeh, a student of Deeper Life High School, Mowe, as the top scorer in the 2023 UTME with a total score of 360.
A breakdown of her score showed that she got 99 in Chemistry, 98 in Mathematics, 97 in Physics, and 66 in English to ace the exam in style.
Cash rewards for Umeh, teachers and others
Umeofia, who announced the cash gift during an interview with The Punch, said the administrator of the school, the four subject teachers and two other best students of the school will also be rewarded.
The school's Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics and English teachers would get ₦100,000 each, while the school administrator, Pastor Eze Emmanuel, will smile to the bank with ₦200,000.
Another student of the school, Andrew Imoukhuede, who scored 355, would get ₦100,000, while the student that came third place in the school would get ₦50,000, The Punch reports.
Speaking on his reason for the gesture, the businessman noted that it was to encourage other students to strive for excellence in their studies.
“I am also doing this not because I have a lot, but because my father taught me that giving is the answer to long life and happiness. As this young girl has done well, we want other young ladies to do the same and reduce this country’s problem. The youths are our only hope in this country."
“I am happy that out of the 1.6 million students that sat the examination, she came first. My heart is gladdened. I am particularly happy because she came from Amish town, Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra State.
'Amish town was where the civil war ended, where (former president Olusegun) Obasanjo took the surrender of Biafra; that means we are a peace-loving town. People like me and this girl are projecting our village in good light. If we as parents have suffered to send our kids to school, they have to do something to make us happy,” He added.