Oyo State Government has commenced the payment of approved N116.5 million bursary allowance to 233 indigenous students in the Nigerian Law School for the 2020/2021 Session.
With the approved amount, each student is entitled to N500,000 yearly bursary allowance.
The state had equally earmarked the sum of N834,500,000 in the proposed 2021 Budget for bursary awards, financial assistance to outstanding students and local and foreign scholarships for students of Oyo State origin.
Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Olasunkanmi Olaleye, disclosed that the beneficiaries had been receiving the payment directly in their respective bank accounts, having earlier been verified by the state government prior to the ongoing payment of the bursary.
The commissioner, who stated that Governor Makinde’s administration was ready to address the issue of bursary awards and scholarship to Oyo State students in tertiary institutions, maintained that the state, through its scholarship board, had earmarked the sum of N834 Million for that purpose in the 2021 Appropriation Bill, which is before the Oyo State House of Assembly.
He explained that the budget proposal is intended to take care of bursary awards to final year students in universities and polytechnics, final year clinical students, aviation and maritime students and Oyo State students in the Law School.
Olaleye added that the state had also made provision in the proposed budget for scholarships for Masters and Ph.D. students in Nigerian universities and financial assistance to students with outstanding performances, special requests from physically challenged students and overseas scholarship.
Governor Seyi Makinde had approved the payment of N500,000 bursary to students of Oyo State origin in the backlog session of the Nigerian Law School in 2019, few months after taking office.
He noted that as part of Governor Makinde’s determination to address the issues of bursary and scholarship to Oyo State students, the government has appointed a former Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Maroof Atilola, to head the state’s scholarship board.
The commissioner stated that the state government remained committed to assisting students of the state in tertiary institutions across the country.