Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu has approved a 100% bursary increment for all indigenous students of the state in higher institutions of learning across the nation.
According to a statement released by the state government, the increment will be effective during the 2022/2023 academic calendar.
Investors king learnt that the news was released during an interactive meeting with representatives of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Lagos State Chapter and National Union of Lagos State Students (NULASS), at the secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja.
Representing the state government, the Executive Secretary of Lagos State Scholarship Board, Mr Abdur Rahaman Lekki noted that the increment is aimed to provide support for the students as they resume back to their different schools following the suspension of strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
The executive secretary however disclosed that the government will use electronic verification and data-cleansing process to discover those who either were no more students or were not even students of any higher institution but benefiting from the scheme.
He further assured that prompt payment of both bursary and scholarship benefits for the outstanding years would commence immediately after the ongoing data cleansing and verification exercise is completed.
”The ongoing data-cleansing/verification exercise is to ensure that only qualified students of Lagos state origin benefited from the scheme,” he said
While the student leadership laments the delay in the payment of outstanding bursaries, Mr Abdur Rahaman Lekki appeals that all outstanding bursaries will be cleared soon.
According to him, for the avoidance of doubt, effective from Monday, Oct. 17, students of the Lagos State College of Health Technology (LASCOHET) will get their outstanding payments for the 2020/2021 academic year.
Meanwhile, while presenting a letter of assurance to the state government, the student bodies also commended the governor for payments of all the backlogs inherited by his administration.
Afterward, they repeal a rumour of any planned protest, claiming it is the handiwork of faceless individuals who want to disturb public peace.
