Education

Tinubu’s government gives N75,000 each to nearly 3000 education students in Nigeria

Published

8 months ago

April 2, 2024

The Federal Government under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu said a total of 2,889 students studying education-related courses in Nigerian higher institutions have benefited from the N75,000 bursary awards.

Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman revealed this on Tuesday during the first quarterly meeting of the Federal Ministry of Education.

The ministry had in 2022 invited applications from qualified students studying Education courses in universities and colleges of education.

During the commemoration of World Teachers Day in 2021, the Federal Government said students undergoing degree programmes in Education in public universities will get a N75,000 stipend per semester, while their counterparts undergoing the Nigeria Certificate in Education will get N50,000 per semester.

While giving statistics on Tuesday, Mamman noted that 2,889 students have so far benefited from the scheme.

While also sharing statistics from the other schemes under the Federal Scholarship Board, Mamman said, “345 individuals are beneficiaries of the Bilateral Education Agreement scholarship, 51 for the commonwealth scholarship, 2,122 beneficiaries under the Nigerian Scholarship Award and 724 beneficiaries under the Teachers Internship Scheme.”

Earlier, the Minister of State for Education, Tanko Sununu, noted that the quarterly citizenship engagement was aimed at creating awareness of the activities of the ministry.

He added that the engagement will “also promote mutual understanding with stakeholders and citizens; build and sustain public trust; and improve transparency and accountability in the sector.

“Worthy of mention is that this engagement also aims to improve efficiency and streamline government operations by identifying and addressing bottlenecks.”

Speaking further, Mamman said security agencies will go after individuals with fake degree certificates in the country.

According to the minister, after the investigative committee on degree mills submits its report, the individuals involved will be tracked.

The Federal Ministry of Education had previously established this committee to investigate the operations of degree mills in response to an investigative report by Daily Nigerian.

This report, authored by Umar Audu, detailed how he obtained a degree within six weeks from a degree mill in Benin Republic and subsequently completed the mandatory youth service under the National Youth Service Corps scheme.

The expose prompted the Nigerian government to prohibit the accreditation and evaluation of degrees from Benin Republic and Togo.

Additionally, the committee was tasked with scrutinizing private universities established in the country within the last 15 years.

During the first quarterly citizens engagement in Abuja, Mamman announced that the committee investigating fake degrees had invited memoranda from the public and conducted visits to institutions in Benin Republic.

Mamman assured that individuals with fake certificates would be apprehended once the committee submits its report, emphasizing that security agencies would track them down.

Dr. Tanko Sununu, the Minister of State for Education, highlighted the purpose of the engagement, emphasizing its role in creating awareness about ministry activities, fostering mutual understanding with stakeholders and citizens, and promoting transparency and accountability in the education sector.

He also emphasized the engagement’s aim to improve efficiency and streamline government operations by identifying and addressing bottlenecks.