By Stanley Onyekwere
At a pivotal stakeholders’ meeting convened by the FCT Scholarship Board on Thursday, key figures in the Federal Capital Territory’s education sector lauded FCT Minister, Barrister Nyesom Wike for his transformative leadership.
While celebrating Wike’s massive strides in infrastructure and social development, stakeholders and FCT Scholarship Board officials made a passionate, soft appeal to the Minister for an upward review of scholarship award rates.
They noted that an increase is vital to help brilliant but less-privileged students cope with current economic realities.
Opening the session, the Director of the FCT Scholarship Board, Mrs. Hannah Peter David, reiterated the Board’s unwavering commitment to supporting indigent and brilliant students.
The meeting focused on reviewing past bottlenecks to map out a highly transparent and efficient roadmap for the upcoming 2025/2026 cycle.
Key objectives laid out for the new cycle include: streamlining application modalities for smoother processing, expanding sensitization campaigns to hard-to-reach communities across all six Area Councils, and strengthening collaborations to ensure only genuinely deserving students benefit.
Others include issuing application forms strictly to fresh applicants without unresolved pending issues and resolving the payment bottleneck.
Addressing concerns raised by traditional rulers including representatives of the Etsu Bwari and the Aguma of Gwagwalada regarding delayed payment alerts for past beneficiaries, Mrs. David clarified that the issues stemmed from applicant errors rather than administrative delays.
According to the Director, over 48 applicants had payments bounced due to submitting incorrect account details, providing parents’ or third-party bank accounts, using fintech /microfinance accounts (such as OPay and Moniepoint) that are incompatible with the government’s payment system.
To prevent a recurrence, the Board took the initiative to contact affected students individually to correct their details and successfully process their payments.
To guarantee a seamless disbursement process, the Board has established the following strict criteria for the upcoming cycle.
To this end, applicants must use accounts from traditional commercial banks. Digital-only fintech platforms (e.g., OPay, Moniepoint) will not be accepted.
The bank account must belong strictly to the applicant (no third-party or parental accounts).
It added that applicants must possess at least five credits, including Mathematics and English Language.
Also, forms must be completed and submitted early.
According to the Board, scholarship disbursements are funded entirely through the FCTA budget.
It added that under the current policy, funds are distributed using an 80/20 formula –
80% allocated to indigent indigenes while 20% allocated to indigent residents.
It explained that this distribution spans basic, post-basic, tertiary, and foreign education.
Mrs. David emphasized that a budget increase from the FCT Administration would allow the Board to expand this crucial educational safety net.
The meeting also highlighted the growing need for technical and vocational skills.
The representative of the Aguma of Gwagwalada advocated for establishing dedicated skills acquisition centers across all Area Councils.
Additionally, the President of the All Nigeria Confederation of Principals of Secondary Schools (ANCOPSS), FCT Chapter, Dr. Jiya Mohammed Umar, commended local traditional rulers for their hands-on support , specifically praising the Etsu Kwali for personally sponsoring 15 indigent secondary school students under the scheme.
Closing the event, the Board’s Head of the Scholarship Award Division, Alice Isah, thanked community leaders and administrators for braving heavy rains to participate, emphasizing that collective effort is key to securing the future of the FCT’s youth.
