After
the closure of the Bukit Bintang Girls’ School (BBGS) in 2000, BBGS Alumni
Berhad was incorporated (on 16th July 2010) to run the Elena Cooke
Education Fund. The Elena Cooke Education Fund honours the dream of Miss Elena
M Cooke, headmistress of BBGS from 1958 to 1977, which was to provide
underprivileged children, especially orphans, with an opportunity to obtain a
good education beyond Form 5.
The
Bukit Bintang Girls’ School, fondly known as BBGS, was a pioneer in women’s
education that began in 1893 with a tradition steeped in excellence, discipline
and godliness. It was founded by God-fearing pioneers who travelled all the way
from the United Kingdom in order to provide education to girls from poor
families living around Bukit Bintang Road in Kuala Lumpur. Through the years,
BBGS promoted values of integrity, honesty, discipline, determination, devotion
to duty and God, and a caring heart to ensure that its students became
responsible members of society who would in turn uphold the values that were
the foundation of the school.
As
a result of the love, dedication and sense of purpose of its principals and
teachers, BBGS over the years turned out many successful women in various
fields who are determined to ensure that the values they learned in school are
reflected in their daily lives. So it was in the spirit of the ideals
propagated by the school that the BBGS Old Girls’ Association proposed the
establishment of the Elena Cooke Education Fund, in the hope of promoting to
others the good old-fashioned values that they learned in school, while at the
same time allowing deserving underprivileged children an opportunity to continue
their studies.
Purpose of the Fund
The
Elena Cooke Education Fund aims to help underprivileged children, especially
orphans, obtain a good education beyond Form 5 – be it Form 6, A-levels, local
college or university. Therefore, it aims to provide funding for higher
education in the form of:
- Full scholarships
- Partial scholarships
What does the Scholarship
Cover?
According
to the Selection Committee’s discretion, the funding can be in the form of full
or partial scholarships. Expenses for books, accommodation and other
living costs will also be considered if necessary.
Who is Eligible for the
Fund?
Application
is open to all deserving Malaysians under the age of 25 hoping to continue
their higher education. Orphanages or
homes for underprivileged children can recommend their deserving students for
the scholarships. Students who come from
families with one or both parents, but who have been prevented from pursuing
higher education by poverty or lack of opportunity, can also apply.
Eligibility criteria include a good track record
and academic results. Selection will be based on a combination of factors
such as recommendation from homes/orphanages,
trial results and interviews.
How is the Elena Cooke
Education Fund Run?
The
BBGS Old Girls’ Association proposed the setting up of BBGS Alumni Berhad as a
company limited by guarantee to oversee and manage the Elena Cooke Education
Fund. BBGS Alumni Berhad is run by a Board of Directors, all selected on the basis of their
integrity, good repute and standing in society. A separate Selection
Committee will go through all the scholarship applications and select and
interview the deserving students before recommending to the Board of Directors
their selections.
Scholarship and Bursary
Policy
The
primary objectives of the Elena Cooke Education Fund are to promote and enhance
educational opportunities by providing assistance to needy Malaysian students
who meet the criteria established above. In accordance with this
objective, the BBGS Alumni Berhad will serve to:
- carry out activities, together with the Old
Girls’ Association, to raise money for the Elena Cooke Education Fund.
- solicit funds for and manage the Elena Cooke
Education Fund in accordance with its M&A
- maintain proper books/accounts of funds raised
in the name of the Elena Cooke Education Fund, and ensure disbursement of
the funds in accordance with established guidelines.
Applying for the Scholarship
All interested Malaysians who satisfy the criteria
are invited to apply. Successful selection will depend upon receipt of
all the necessary documents.
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As loyal women of our race