For Madam Aisha Ahmat, 52, age is no barrier to education. She will soon start on her Advanced Diploma in Business Management course, now that she has secured a scholarship to help defray her costs.
She is one of 672 recipients of scholarships from the Management Development Institute of Singapore, the oldest not-for-profit organisation promoting life-long learning.
This is the second MDIS scholarship for Madam Aisha, who earns $2,000 a month in a company offering motoring services.
Without the scholarship, she would not have been able to afford the cost of the study, she said. And without the full support of her family, she would also not have been able to manage.
She said: "To juggle work, domestic responsibilities, studies and volunteering at Mendaki simultaneously has been a great challenge.
"I am only able to do it because my children have been a great help at home. I really enjoy studying and I hope to be a positive role model for my children in embracing the culture of lifelong learning."
Mr Seah Kian Peng, Deputy Speaker of Parliament and Chief Executive Officer of NTUC Fairprice gave out the scholarships to Madam Aisha and the other 671 recipients May 17 morning.
He said at the ceremony at Raffles City Convention Centre: "It is heartening to know that over 23 union members have benefitted from scholarships offered by MDIS in the last six years through the long-standing relationship NTUC has with MDIS."
Another recipient, Mr Jaya Chandran, 44, will be pursuing a part-time Masters in Business Administration programme with United Kingdom's University of Sunderland.
The father of two young children who had worked his way up from maintenance and repair supervisor t o manufacturing engineering manager at a global semiconductor equipment company said: ""Learning is a never-ending journey.
"Getting a higher academic qualification will not only open up more opportunities for me in the marketplace and enable greater job mobility, but also help me to keep up with times and remain relevant in this society."
