Check out the New Updates on Lagos Bursary Disbursement

 

The Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has authorized a 100% increase in the bursary given to Lagos indigenes who attend tertiary schools all across the nation.

The Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Scholarship Board, Mr. Abdur Rahaman Lekki, revealed in a statement on Sunday that the raise would begin to take effect in the 2022–2023 academic year.

Lekki claimed that he had already informed the representatives of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) Lagos State Chapter and the National Union of Lagos State Students (NULASS) at a meeting at Alausa, Ikeja.

Lekki stated that the meeting had in attendance, the presidents of the two student union bodies, NANS and NULAS, as well as some of its executive members and representatives of the state government.

Also, the 100% increase in bursaries and other incentives was intended to help students from Lagos State with their educational demands and help them adjust to the current economic climate.

Lekki also confirmed 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 reiterated 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 current data-cleansing and verification process across all institutions was what caused the delay.

He said, “The ongoing data-cleansing/verification exercise is to ensure that only qualified students of Lagos state origin benefited from the scheme.”

Lekki stated 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 revealed 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 hinted that starting from Monday, October 17, LASCOHET students at the Lagos State College of Health Technology (LASCOHET) would 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 added that the state government’s 2023 budget includes the new raise as well as additional incentives to make life easier for students 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 to administer 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 benefit of our students.

“Rather than stopping it, the Governor will continue to improve on it as part of the measures to realize his vision for sustainable educational growth for the state, in line with the T.H.E.M.E.S development agenda,” he said.

The two student union presidents, NANS and NULASS, responded by dismissing rumors that their members planned to block the Third Mainland Bridge on October 17 in protest of the delay in the payment of benefits due for the 2020–2021 and 2021–2022 academic semesters.

Their presidents, Olusesi Tolulope (NANS) and Shasanya Akinola (NULASS), as well as other exco members, served as their representatives.

They referred to the reports of protests by students from Lagos state as outright lies and noted that their members had total trust in Sanwo-Olu as a trustworthy governor and father they could rely on to keep his word.

The state government received a letter of guarantee from its members from the leaders of the students’ union.

They noted that the Sanwo-Olu government had previously provided fast and efficient payment of both scholarship and bursary benefits in addition to demonstrating dedication to education advancement through several changes.

The students also applauded the governor for clearing up all the backlogs that his administration had inherited. They said that any planned demonstrations were the product of anonymous unhappy individuals, whose specialty was spreading false information and disrupting the peace.