The Nation Newspaper

Tag: BURSARY

  • Ondo students protest ‘non-payment’ of bursary

    Students in tertiary institutions, who hail from Idanre Local Government of Ondo State, yesterday protested the “non-payment” of their bursary allowance by the state government.

    The students also decried the incessant power outage in the council since the beginning of this year.

    They barricaded major roads in the town and carried placards with various inscriptions, such as “Governor Olusegun Mimiko, where is our money”; “Pay our bursary now” and “We are tired of empty promises”.

    They also demanded the payment of the National Association of Idanre Local Government Students’ grant.

    The protest, which began around 8am, took another dimension when the students stormed the Idanre Local Government Secretariat at Owena. They chased away the council workers and locked the secretariat gate.

    The National Vice-President of the National Association of Idanre Local Government Students, Comrade Ali Olaide, said they could not understand why the state and local governments refused to pay the money, despite the huge resources accruable to the state on a monthly basis.

    She said, last week, a representative of the association met with the Chief of Staff (CoS) to the Governor, Mr. Kola Ademujimi, who hails from Idanre, on the matter without any positive result.

    Miss Olaide said: “The total amount approved by the government for bursary is N3 million, which should have been paid without controversy. We have politely exploited every possible avenue to ensure that the money is paid on time.

    “Many local governments have paid the money, but here in Idanre, the reverse is the case. Why is this council always backward in everything? In the past two months, we have not had power supply in Idanre.

    “The state and local governments are aware of this, yet nothing has been done. Idanre is a great town with good people. We will not allow greedy people to rubbish it.”

    Efforts by the Council Chairman, Mr. Akinnayajo Marcus, to pacify the students were rebuffed.

    Former Special Assistant to the Governor on Youth and Students’ Affairs Ola George said the government had paid the bursary of all indigenous students.

    George said the students were agitating for book allowance in their council and not bursary.

  • Anambra Law students demand bursary

    Students of Anambra State origin studying in the University of Jos (UNIJOS) have called on their state government to speed up the payment of bursary for the Law students in tertiary institutions to prevent them from dropping out of school.

    The called was made when the National Association of Anambra State Law Students (NAALS), UNIJOS chapter, visited Prof Nnamdi Aduba, an indigene of the state and Law lecturer in the institution, in his office at the main campus of the university.

    Speaking to the students, Prof Aduba criticised Anambra State government for “not doing well educationally”, saying the state had highest number of young men in business rather than in school among the southeastern state.

    He said: “It is nothing new to assist students through human capital development as this is very important to youth employment in order to reduce the rate of unemployment and kidnapping amongst young people in the state.

    “I want to lend my voice to appeal to the Anambra State government to alleviate the suffering of the students through the prompt payment of their bursary as is obtainable in other states.”

    Earlier, the president of the association, Obinna Ofodile, said they were in his office to commend him for his continuous support to the association as the patron and to complain the non-payment of their bursary by the state government.

     

     

  • Ogun approves N200m bursary

    •Indigenes in Law School to get N100,000 each

     

    The Ogun State Government has approved N200 million for the payment of bursaries and the award of scholarships to students.

    Indigenes in law schools across the federation would be paid N100,000 each.

    Governor Ibikunle Amosun approved a 50 per cent increment on the N50,000 each student was formerly paid.

    Primary school pupils with special needs will now get N10, 000 each, instead of the previous N8,000.

    Their counterparts in secondary schools and tertiary institutions will get N20,000 and N30,000.

    Over 10,770 students are to benefit from the reviewed Bursary Scheme.

    Although 49,298 students applied for the bursary, 10,770 were verified as genuine.

    The beneficiaries comprises 226 law students, 432 physically-challenged persons (eight in primary schools, 314 in secondary schools and 110 in tertiary institutions), 235 state scholars, 4,782 final-year students and 5,988 on other levels.

    Commissioner for Education Segun Odubela, who spoke in Abeokuta, the state capital, said the figures were arrived at after his ministry overhauled the payment process of bursaries, scholarships and other grants to ensure transparency.

    Odubela said: “I realised that if we want to increase the amount paid to the beneficiaries, we need to ensure that the figures are correct and cover only genuine beneficiaries.

    “So we requested the institutions to forward the names of students of Ogun State origin, their bank account details, names and addresses of their parents.

    “Each student was required to append his or her signature on the returns. This helped us arrive at realistic figures of beneficiaries and the amount required.”

    He said final-year students would get N10,000 each, instead of the previous N3,000, while those on other levels would be paid N5,000, instead of N1,500.

    State scholars will get N30,000 each instead of the previous N8,000-N25, 000.

    Odubela said the governor directed that the money should be taken from this year’s budget of the Ministry of Education.

     

  • Oyo indigenes in Law School get N10m bursary

    Oyo indigenes in Law School get N10m bursary

    The Oyo State Government has distributed cheques worth over N10 million as bursary awards to its indigenes at the Nigerian Law School for the 2011/2012 academic session.

    The Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Adetokunbo Fayokun, during the distribution in Ibadan, said the gesture was aimed at assisting them financially.

    According to her, the state government was unaware of the importance of their school programme, and the huge financial resources required, hence the need to come to their aid.

    Promising that government would continue to implement policies that would enhance the educational development of the youth in the state, Fayokun urged them to reciprocate the gesture by being more committed to their studies.

    The commissioner also enjoined them to be good ambassadors of the state and shun all acts that could bring disrepute to their families, the state and the nation.

    The Chairman of the state Scholarship Board, Dr. Adekiitan Babalola, in his remarks, prayed Governor Abiola Ajimobi for approving the bursary to the students.

    He said arrangements had also been concluded for the payment of 2011/2012 bursary awards to final year students of Oyo State origin in all federal and state-owned tertiary institutions nationwide.