Education Ministry dispels foul play in Fed Scholarship slots

By Mariam Habeeb

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Architect Sunny Echono has debunked the allegation of lopsided allocation of slots for the 2020/21 Federal Scholarship among the geopolitical zones of the country.
Echono was reacting while appearing before the Senate committee on Tertiary institutions and TETFUND investigating the claims.
His reaction was relayed via a statement yesterday by Malam Abdulkadir Lawal, Media Adviser to Senator Ahmad Babba Kaita, Katsina North.
The Chairman Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND, Senator Ahmad Babba Kaita had yesterday summoned the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education and the Director, Federal Scholarship Board to provide convincing answers to the alleged lopsidedness in the distribution of the 2020/21 scholarship to the six geopolitical zones of the country.
The statement quoted Senator Kaita as saying that their invitation became necessary to establish the authenticity or otherwise of the claim.
Echono in his defence, said the purported list which has gone viral on the cyberspace was an application names which thereafter provided the summary of the 2020 Schorlarship Distribution by geopolitical zones as follows:
1. North central- 85
2. North East- 51
3. North West- 69
4. South South- 76
5. South east- 29
6. South West- 35
In his Defence, the Acting Director Federal Schorlrship Board, Mr Aliyu Saliu
argued that there was fairness as the scholarship was evenly distributed among the six geopolitical zones, and provided its website for proper verification of the claim: www.education.gov/schorlarship.com
In a remark, Senator Kaita thanked them for their honest and timely response to the allegation and pledged a more cordial working relationship with the ministry and other concerned agencies for the overall betterment of the sector.