AS The Governor of Bayelsa State, Hon. Seriake Dickson has approved the sum of 400million Naira for the payment of bursary and scholarship entitlements for students of the state origin in institutions of higher learning in Nigeria and abroad.
Addressing newsmen in his office in Yenagoa, the Chairman of Bayelsa Scholarship Board, Evangelist Foster Ogola, who gave the breakdown of the amount explained that, 200 million naira is for the payment of bursary and the other 200 million naira for foreign scholarship obligations, excluding those in the United Kingdom.
According to the Board chairman, students of the Niger Delta University will be the first beneficiaries of the bursary, while other students in the South South and other zones of the country will be paid thereafter.
He further explained that, the bursary payment is for the 2013/2014 session, noting that beneficiaries will have to register online beginning from Monday,18 August, 2014 via the Bayelsa State Scholarship Board website.
Consequently, students were advised to get the details in some national and local tabloids between Thursday and Friday this week.
On the payment of scholarship for students abroad, Evangelist Ogola assured Bayelsa students in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and other parts of the world that, efforts were being intensified towards ensuring that, their tuition and upkeep allowances will be remitted to them before the end of next week, adding that in the U.K. alone, Bayelsa State has students in 81 universities; out which 47 are Ph.D and 300 in Masters degree programmes.
Giving reasons why the scholarship board opted for online registration of students for bursary payments, Evangelist Ogola, stated that, it was among other reasons intended to prevent infiltrators from benefitting, to enable the board account for all the money to be paid to students, to save the cost of board members travelling the various institutions as well as prevent interested parties from cooking up lists and conform the cashless policy of government.
He also used the occasion to restate government’s commitment to the educational advancement of the state and the creation of opportunities for students of Bayelsa State origin in line with its robust educational policy.
The Scholarship board chairman, equally appealed to Bayelsa students in Nigerian and foreign universities show some level of understanding and exercise patience as everything was being done by the government to make the process of learning conducive for them.
Evangelist Ogola further appealed to parents and guardians as well as the benefitting students to exercise restraint in some of their actions.
Bayelsa State Government Press Release
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