Prof. Tran Thanh Van, president of the organisation, and Prof. Odon Vallet, original sponsor of the scholarship programme, attended the presentation ceremony held in Hanoi on September 10.

Twenty of the successful students, many of them from poor families, had won prizes at international and regional contests.

This was the sixth time the French organisation presented scholarships to students in northern localities.

In the 2006-07 school-year, "Meeting Vietnam" plans to hand over a total of 1,600 scholarships worth around US$250,000 to students from all parts of the country.

The scholarship programme for outstanding Vietnamese students was set up in 2001. The funding came from the wealth of Prof. Odon Vallet inherited from his father, a poor labourer, who had studied hard and made a fortune in the insurance business. Prior to his death, he bequeathed his wealth to his son, asking him to help poor students.