BOC 18 Plus scholarships empower youth to achieve their ambitions

BOC 18 Plus, the premier youth savings account in the country, is yet again set to award 18 Plus scholarships for eligible 18 Plus account holders currently studying in state universities, in recognition of their achievements in the 2013 Advanced Level examination.

This year, the bank will be awarding scholarships to 95 students, where 20 students will be eligible for the special merit awards, those eligible for this special merit awards and those who obtained the highest marks in the four streams - Science, Mathematics, Commerce and Arts. Each student will receive a scholarship of Rs.35,000. The other 75 students will be selected through a raffle draw and each one of them will be awarded a scholarship worth Rs.30,000. 

Bank of Ceylon (BOC) has been conducting this annual awards ceremony since the year 2002 as part of the bank’s corporate social responsibility initiative towards empowering and motivating the Sri Lankan youth to pursue higher education and reach their highest potential to achieve a sustainable development in the country. 

So far, BOC has granted 1050 scholarships worth Rs.28 million. The selection criteria for this year’s scholarship were based on the 2013 Advance Level examination results. The 18 Plus account holders, who have maintained Rs.5000 uninterruptedly in the account from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013, were considered eligible for the scholarship. 

Understanding the current need of the younger generation, BOC has re-energized the ‘18 Plus’ account as an ‘18 Plus-SmartGen’ account that enables tech-savvy youth to experience sophisticated banking at their convenience. The bank has digitally enabled SmartGen account holders to transact 24X7 throughout the year with free access to online banking.