Borno State Governor Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum has approved the release of N1.649 billion to settle outstanding scholarship obligations for 300 orphans of Counter-Insurgency Volunteers and other students. The funds will cover the 2024/2025 academic session for eligible beneficiaries in tertiary institutions within Nigeria and abroad. Dr Bala Isa, Executive Secretary of the Borno State Scholarships Board, disclosed the approval during a press conference in Maiduguri on Tuesday. The package includes tuition and accommodation for 272 Borno medical students at the Federal University of Health Sciences, Azare, and covers tuition for 34 MBBS students at Al-Ansar University, Maiduguri. School fees for 60 students at the Nigerian Institute of Leather Science and Technology, Zaria, are also included. The disbursement extends to six months' allowances for Nursing College students under the state scholarship scheme. A portion of the funds will pay school fees for 300 orphans of Counter-Insurgency Volunteers. Additional components include return airfares for 133 postgraduate STEM graduates and 39 PhD STEM scholars studying in India and Malaysia, as well as return tickets for 104 undergraduate scholars in China. Dr Isa described the approval as a strategic investment in the state's future rather than a routine financial commitment. He said the board had commenced administrative processes for the timely disbursement of funds directly to institutions, beneficiaries, and service providers in accordance with government procedures.
|||NAJABUZZ_TAKE||| The same government that has struggled to pay civil servant salaries consistently is now releasing over N1.6 billion for scholarships to a specific group of students, including those studying abroad. While the support for CJTF orphans and STEM scholars is documented, the prioritisation of foreign education amid local infrastructure decay raises questions about equity. The beneficiaries are clearly defined, but the broader student population in state universities receives no mention in this intervention. This creates a visible distinction between those the state chooses to invest in and those left out.
While orphans of counter-insurgency volunteers finally get scholarship relief, many other indigent Nigerian students across conflict zones remain without similar support. The state can find billions for specific beneficiaries yet millions live in displacement camps with no access to education. Where is the equity for all war-affected children?
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