February 15, (THEWILL) – Benue State Commissioner for Education, Dr Saawuan Tarnongu, has revealed that the State Government has spent over N400 million for payment of students’ scholarship during the administration of Governor Samuel Ortom.
The Commissioner, who disclosed this at a press conference in Makurdi, On Tuesday, while debunking allegations of the government extorting students on the purchase of scholarship forms, explained that the present regime has increased bursary allowances to the deserving students in the State by 100 percent.
According to him, records available indicate that students at the Nigeria Law Schools, who purchased scholarship forms at the cost of N5,000, screened and scaled through are receiving N250,000 while regular students had the scholarship form fee slashed from N1,000 to N500.
He stated that since coming on board, the Samuel Ortom administration has cleared a bag log of scholarship arrears to the tune of over N20 million, with over 12,000 students benefiting from the scheme.
On illegal schools, Dr Tarnongu said many have been closed down for not meeting the prescribed conditions listed by the Benue State Government, pointing out that some of the affected schools were operating by the road side while others were at residential premises, alongside family units.
He warned that any school that admits a student in JSS3 and SS3 will have the Principal sanctioned except with permission from the office of the Commissioner.
According to him, Benue state is not the worst off in terms of non-payment of salary and pension as it is a national issue that affects other States of the federation, noting that Benue is the highest salary payer in the North and third in the federation.
Complimenting the Commissioner, the Executive Secretary of Benue State Scholarship Board, Dr Isaac Igbe, said over 25,000 students of Benue origin graduated from various institutions of higher learning across the country, which made it impossible for the Government to accommodate all applicants.
“The board, therefore, placed a huddle through introduction of Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) policy to knock off some students from benefitting to reduce the demand,” he stated.
The Executive Secretary explained that at the moment, law students of Benue origin are receiving N200,000 among others.
In her remarks, the President, National Union of Benue State Students (NUBESS), Miss Jennifer Ornguga, said those students the alleged impropriety in the system are impostors and disgruntled elements, who lost out during the NUBESS election last year.
She said the Samuel Ortom administration is working hard to uplift the standard of education in the State amidst the economic meltdown and Covid-19 pandemic and needs to be commended.
She advised members of the public to discountenance any publication by the said students that the Government is playing “yahoo yahoo” with students’ scholarships.
