Bauchi spends N425m on scholarship awards

From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

The Bauchi state government has exhausted N425 million on local and foreign scholarships for the 2011/2012 academic session.

The Executive Chairman, Bauchi State Scholarship Board, Alhaji Kulloma Hardawa, disclosed this to journalists in Bauchi. According to him, the scholarship award was part of government’s effort at easing the financial difficulties of students and their parents in the course of their educational training.

Hardawa said the amount had been released by the state government to effect the payments to local and foreign students in both tertiary and religious institutions across the world. According to him, 48,075 students studying different courses in various tertiary institutions across the country have been paid.

“Additional 35 students studying in over 20 foreign countries were also paid. Currently, we are concluding payments of N83.6 million to 8,120 students who secured admission in 107 tertiary institutions across the country as well as the state’s scholarship award during the 2011/2012 academic session.

“For effective coverage and timely conclusion of the payment, six teams were constituted to cover institutions in the six geo-political zones of the country”.

He explained that post-graduate students got N24, 750 each; B.Sc. sciences and law students, N18, 000; B.Sc. Arts N15, 000; HND students, N13, 125, while remedial students got N16, 000 each.

“Others are NCE sciences N12, 000; NCE Arts 10,500; Diploma students N7, 875; IJMB N6, 500; Certificate/Pre-NCE N5, 250 and Senior Islamic Students/Junior Islamic students N4, 500.

“For Post-Graduate, B. A. and Diploma in Theology students, their entitlements are the same with Post-Graduate students, B.Sc. Arts and Diploma students”, he stated.

For the foreign scholarship, Hardawa said that their allowances ranged from one million naira to N10 million annually, depending on the course and the country of study.

He said that medical students and others in the pure sciences had been placed on salary grade level-07 in the state’s public service, saying that they would be paid monthly.

He said that the board paid the scholarship meant for 2011/ 2012 in 2014 because the money was not released on time.

Hardawa commended the Gov. Isa Yuguda-led administration for approving the funds to effect the payments, saying “This is a clear indication of Yuguda’s commitment towards lifting the standard of the people through the provision of access as well as the means to acquire education.

“We are however, appealing for the timely release of the funds for subsequent payments to avert delays”, he added.