Bauchi govt settles N89.3 million students’ scholarship
By Mohammed kaka Misau, Bauchi
The Bauchi state government under Governor Bala Mohammed has paid scholarship to no fewer than 5,033 students worth N89.3 million between 2021 and January 2022.
This was disclosed by the National Union of Bauchi State Students (NUBASS) at a press conference yesterday.
The National President of the Union, Comrade Mohammed Abubakar while addressing the conference, commended Governor Bala Mohammed for the gesture, adding that it has helped a lot in ameliorating their hardship.
This is coming few weeks after a student group under the auspices of Air Marshal Abubakar Sadiq Students (AMASS) Forum berated Governor Bala Mohamed’s government over alleged deteriorating state of education in the state.
They had alledged that international scholarship was terminated for over four years with local scholarship partially disbursed to only few students while the sponsorship of 200 students of Malikiyya college of health whose sponsorship was offered by the previous administration has been terminated.
However, NUBASS on their part, lauded the intervention programmes of the present administration in the last 3 years, saying that ND and NCE students are now being paid N12,000 against N7,000 previous paid to them as scholarship allowances.
“The governor has provided funiture worth three billion, thirty-nine million, seventy-six thousand, one hundred and fifty-seven naira, seventy-two kobo (N3,039,768,157.72). This is in addition to the procurement of many other instructional materials”, they said.
According to NUBASS, the present administration of Bala has paid WAEC fee amounting to N800 million apart from the backlog owed by previous administration.
“Even so, in 2021, about 80,000 students fees for NECO, NABTEB, NBAIS, and BRCE were paid. And recently, over 1000 students were recruited for medical bonding which include MBBS, pharmacy, radiography, physiology, nursing, dental technicians etc”, the students explained.
The Union maintained that while many other states cannot access intervention funds for non-compliance with the prerequisite conditions set up by UBEC, Bauchi students have continued to enjoy several intervention programmes due to governor’s compliance in payment of counterpart funds.
NUBASS further stated that the Bauchi State Universal Basic Education Board has through the 2019 UBEC SUREB Intervention Projects constructed and renovated 353 blocks of Classrooms, 14 VIP Toilets.
They said over 39 Hand Pump Boreholes were drilled by the project in addition to provision of schooling materials for 18,148 Primary Pupils and 155 teachers across the state.