A ceremony to present Odon Vallet scholarships to 193 outstanding students took place in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue on September 1.

The scholarships were worth over VND2.2 billion in total, with those for university students (63) valued at VND16 million each and for high school students - VND9.5 million.

The recipients included prize winners of international Olympiads and national academic competitions, students ranked in top places in university graduation exams, and students with excellent academic performance selected by high schools in local townships, communes and districts.

Prof.Vallet (R), Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Dung (L), and 3 of the outstanding students who receive Vallet scholarship (source: Dan Tri)

Speaking at the event, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Dung thanked professors Tran Thanh Van and Odon Vallet for donating all interest payments of their savings to grant scholarships to Vietnamese students.

In 1999, Prof.Dr.Odon Vallet set up the Vallet Scholarship Fund for high-achieving students in France, Vietnam and Bennin (Germany). The funding is drawn from personal inheritance from his father, once a poor labourer who made his fortune from the insurance business.

To date, more than 25,000 scholarships have been given to Vietnamese students worth a total in excess of VND170 billion (US$7.39 million).

The fund also assisted Hue High School for the Gifted and Hai Ba Trung high schools in building their own libraries./.

( VNF/VNA )