Elena Cooke Education Fund - Preamble

After the closure of the Bukit Bintang Girls’ School (BBGS) in 2000, BBGS Alumni Berhad was incorporated (on 16^th 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.