Bank of Ceylon awards 2,000 schols for top performers at Grade 5 scholarship exam
View(s):The Bank of Ceylon provides 2,000 scholarships to high-flyers of the year five scholarship examination every year to empower the younger generation to have a sustainable education.
Since 2002 the bank has awarded over 12,000 scholarships for Ran Kekulu account holders worth nearly Rs.120 million. The scholarship selection criterion is based on results (marks) received at the year five scholarship examination held in August 2013, acording to a bank media release.
Students with 176 marks or above could apply for BOC Ran Kekulu scholarships worth Rs.10,000 each. The specimen application and the details are available in newspapers. Students who are interested in Ran Kekulu scholarships need to apply before 31st December 2013. Eligibility for these awards is by maintaining a minimum balance of Rs.2500 in a Ran Kekulu account on the date of the scholarship examination.
As a part of the bank’s sustainability initiative, the Hapana programme is conducted island-wide to coach students for the year 5 scholarship examination. This is conducted at provincial level with the assistance of the Education Ministry.
The Bank of Ceylon maintains over 4,000 “Ran Kekulu School Sansadha” (school savings units) in selected schools covering all parts of the country. These units are managed by students themselves with the help of nearest BOC branch.
“The Bank of Ceylon provides 1 per cent higher interest rate than the normal savings account for Ran Kekulu, a free health insurance cover for the account holder up to Rs.100,000 and a free life insurance cover for the parent/guardian up to a maximum of Rs.1,000,000 (minimum balance of Rs.5000 maintained in the account six months prior to the incident), exciting gifts for child’s special birthdays and a chance to win scholarships worth for Rs.10,000 each for those who have excelled in year 5 scholarship examination,” the statement said.
Bank of Ceylon was awarded Asia’s Best Brand award 2013 by the Chief Marketing Officer’s Council (CMO Council) based in Mumbai, India. Brand Finance Lanka ranked Bank of Ceylon as the No.1 Brand for the last five consecutive years and the bank is also ranked among the top 1000 banks in the world above all other Sri Lankan banks (country ranking is No.1) by “The Banker” magazine UK in 2013. BOC has penetrated half of the population in the country with 10 million account holders with over 1,000 customer touch points covering all parts of the country. The Bank of Ceylon won a hat-trick for the second consecutive year at the National Business Excellence awards ceremony organized by NCCSL in 2013. Bank of Ceylon is also the only Sri Lankan bank with an international presence, with branches in Chennai, Male, and subsidiary in London, soon to be expanded to include the Seychelles.