With the approval of Lagos State’s governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the bursary given to students from Lagos State at universities and colleges across the country has been increased by 100 per cent.
The Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Scholarship Board, Mr. Abdur Rahaman Lekki, said in a statement on Sunday that the increase would start in the 2022-2023 school year.
In a meeting held at Alausa, Ikeja, Lekki said that he had notified representatives from NANS, the Lagos state chapter of the National Association of Nigerian Students, and NULASS, the National Union of Lagos State Students.
He explained that Mr. Tokunbo Wahab, Special Adviser to Governor Sanwo- Olu on Education, requested the gathering.
Lekki stated that the meeting included representatives from the state administration as well as the presidents and some executive members of both NANS and NULAS, two student union groups.
He explained that the increased bursary amount of 100% and other perks were designed to help students from Lagos state with their educational expenses so that they could better adjust to the current economic situation.
Lekki also revealed that the government has adopted resolutions on the establishment of the Lagos Diaspora Scholarship Fund during the recently ended State Economic Summit popularly known as the “Ehingbeti Summit.”
According to him, the goal of the scholarship fund is to provide financial aid in the form of scholarships and bursaries to students from Lagos state who are enrolled in postsecondary institutions within the United States.
Because of the little holdup in disbursing the remaining bursary/scholarship benefits for 2020/21 and 2021/22, he made an appeal to the students.
According to the board secretary, the state government is currently conducting a data-cleaning/verification operation across all institutions, which has caused the delay.
His goal, through the “ongoing data-cleansing/verification effort,” is to guarantee that only eligible pupils from Lagos state benefited from the programme.
”The ongoing data-cleansing/verification exercise is to ensure that only qualified students of Lagos state origin benefited from the scheme,” he said.
Lekki that the Lagos state scholarship board through the ongoing verification and data cleansing effort uncovered a fraudulent act, at the expense of the original students of the state who the plan was created for.
According to him, the scam was exposed after it was found that several participants were no longer students or were never students in the first place.
After this process is finished, the board secretary said, bursary and scholarship benefits for the years that are still owed would be paid promptly.
For the record, he claims that the pending payments for the 2020/21 school year for students at the Lagos State College of Health Technology (LASCOHET) will begin on Monday, October 17.
He reported that LASCOHET’s administration had finished its student verification process and had sent the board a list of the school’s legitimate pupils.
Lekki added that the Board had planned evaluations for new scholarship recipients for the 2022/2023 academic year on October 29 once all relevant information had been sent out.
He assured the students that the state government had no plans to cancel the programme, citing funding for it in the state budget as evidence that the state had no intention of doing so.
He claims that the state government’s budget for the year 2023 accounts for the raise and other advantages meant to make students’ lives easier while they are in school.
”I want you to remember that the state government just appointed a new board secretary to the Lagos state scholarship board for the administration of both bursary and scholarship benefits.
”That is even enough for you to know there was no plan at any time to stop the scheme. Both bursary and scholarship schemes will continue unstopped for the benefits of our students.
”Rather than stopping it, the governor will continue to improve on it as part of the measures to realise his vision for sustainable educational growth for the state, in line with the T.H.E.M.E.S development agenda,” he said.
The heads of NANS and NULASS responded to rumours that their members would block the Third Mainland Bridge on October 17 in protest over the late payment of benefits for the 2020–21 and 2021–22 school years by stating that such action was not planned.
Olusesi Tolulope (NANS) and Shasanya Akinola (NULASS) both sent representatives, including their respective presidents and other members of the executive councils.
According to them, the rumours of a protest by students from Lagos state are completely false, and they have full faith in Sanwo-Olu as a responsible governor and parent who will keep his word.
A letter of guarantees from the students’ union was handed to the state government by the union’s leaders.
Those interviewed stated that the Sanwo-Olu administration had proven its dedication to education expansion through a number of policy changes, and that past scholarship and bursary payments had been processed quickly and without any issues.
The pupils also expressed their appreciation to the governor for clearing up all the debts that were left to him when he took office.
They said that the protest, if it were to occur, would be organised by anonymous troublemakers whose specialty was spreading rumours and disrupting public order.
