A SINGAPORE IT company has launched a scholarship with a twist.

Instead of going after high achievers, it will target school dropouts and teenagers hooked on video games.

Evohub, which has all of 10 employees, told The Straits Times it is offering 10 to 15 partial scholarships worth $10,000 each to help troubled teenagers get back on track.

These students, who are also from low-income families, will have to pay $3,500 out of their own pockets for the programme.

The money will fund an advanced diploma in IT that could eventually land students a spot in a university-level programme offered by private school Informatics.

Classes, which have already begun for some students, are held at the company's Lavender location.

Open only to scholarship holders, each day's lessons start relatively late in the morning at 10am - because many students have trouble waking early. They are let off only at 6pm.

Lecturers, all of whom have at least an honours degree, are industry players and online game buffs, said Mr Jeffrey Lau, 28, one of the three founders of Evohub.

For now, they have two lecturers teaching four modules.

There is a catch in the offer, though.

Students have just 11 days' medical leave and 14 days' leave for the duration of the two-year programme. If they exceed that limit, their parents will be called in and they may even forfeit their scholarship.

This is to instil discipline in students and ensure they turn up for classes, said Mr Lau.

He is working with the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports and counsellors to find youth who fit Evohub's scholarship criteria.

He said he came up with the idea when he realised some youngsters were skipping school and 'gaming their lives away'.

The course is a lifeline for youth like Alistair Ong, 17, one of three recipients of the scholarship so far.

The gaming enthusiast dropped out of school after he failed Secondary 3. He spent almost all his waking hours in front of the computer and slept just one to three hours most nights.

'If I sleep, I will fall behind in my game,' said the former Bedok Town Secondary student who used to have his meals in front of the computer.

'If I have to go to the toilet, I have to run there and back,' he added.

The only son of a taxi driver and a tutor said he now looks forward to lessons because of their practical nature. The modules he has started on include systems development, computer technology and business communications.

The diploma can be completed in 18 months, but scholarship recipients must spend the next six months working in Evohub.

But the six-month bond is not something Alistair minds.

'Now there's a new chance, I'm slowly trying to change and be a 'normal' person and live normal hours again,' he said.

janeng@sph.com.sg