Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has approved a 100% increase in bursaries awarded to students from Lagos State who are enrolled in higher institutions all across the nation.
In a statement released on Sunday, Abdur Rahaman Lekki, the executive secretary of the Lagos State Scholarship Board, stated that the raise would begin to take effect in the 2022–2023 academic year.
At a meeting in Alausa, Ikeja, Lekki claimed to have already told leaders of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Lagos State Chapter, and the National Union of Lagos State Students (NULASS).
According to him, the meeting was called at the request of Tokunbo Wahab, the special adviser on education to Governor Sanwo-Olu.
The presidents of the two student union bodies, NANS and NULAS, as well as some of its executive members, according to Lekki, were present at the meeting, along with representatives of the state government.
He claimed that the 100% increase in bursaries and other incentives were intended to help students from Lagos State with their educational demands and help them adjust to the current economic climate.
Lekki also revealed that the government has accepted the resolutions on the creation of the Lagos Diaspora Scholarship Fund during the recently ended State Economic Summit known as the “Ehingbeti Summit.”
He claims that the scholarship fund’s primary goal is to support all Lagos state residents who are enrolled in tertiary institutions across the nation with scholarships and bursaries.
He made an appeal to the students over a slight hold-up in the payment of the remaining bursary/scholarship benefits for 2020–2021 and 2021–2022.
The board secretary explained that the state government’s continuous exercise of data-cleansing and verification across all institutions was what caused the delay.
”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 uncovered a fraudulent act, which was at the expense of the original students of the state for whom the plan was intended, during the continuing verification and data cleansing effort.
He claimed that it was found that certain people were taking advantage of the plan even though they were either no longer students or weren’t even enrolled in any higher education institution.
The board secretary gave the assurance that fast payment of the outstanding bursary and scholarship benefits would start as soon as the current exercise was finished.
For the avoidance of doubt, he stated that beginning on Monday, October 17, LASCOHET students at the Lagos State College of Health Technology (LASCOHET) will get their unpaid tuition balances for the 2020–2021 academic year.
He claimed that the LASCOHET management had finished the student verification process and sent the board the list of its genuine pupils.
Lekki added that the assessment examinations for new scholarship beneficiaries for the years 2022–2023 had been set for October 29 because qualified candidates had already received the essential information.
He stated there was no reason to cancel the scheme because it was provided for in the state budget, allaying the students’ fears that the state government was intending to do so.
He claims that the state government’s 2023 budget includes the new raise as well as additional incentives to make life easier for kids while they are in school.