Editorial: FLAWS IN 2017 NIGERIAN FEDERAL SCHOLARSHIP AWARD

By: Comrade Usman Haruna, 08104772885

I am pleading to all and sundry to help in the dissemination of this critique, not only that the voices of the students could again be heard by our leaders, but also because it may bring about change, especially in subsequent scholarship programmes by our

government. Some may think issue of federal scholarship is not worth writing on, maybe they are unaware, check the breakdown of the budget for education sector and you will realize that it is part of our entitlement.

To begin with, the scholarship registration portal, www.government.gov.ng, is not a secured web page, as such, any information you input on the page is not secured, and it can be hacked, modified or manipulated by intenders. As a matter of fact, this made me not to apply initially, but later decided to try my luck. The government should in future scholarship programmes create an HTTPS (secured), webpage for registrations.

One painful thing about the programme is the eligibility criteria for Nigerian Award, which read; For all Undergraduate Scholarship applicants (Physically challenged inclusive) must be in their second year or above and have at least 4.0 Cumulative Grade Points Aggregate (CGPA) on a five (5) point grade scale or its equivalents and 3.5 CGPA for Monotechnics, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education, while applicants for Postgraduate Scholarship award should possess a minimum of first degree with Second Class Honors Upper Division.

The Government has cut out a larger percentage of her students from the award, it can be established without any need for research that students who are below 4.0 CGPA on a (5) point scale, 3.50 CGPA on a 4 point s and postgraduate students with grades less than Second Class Honours Upper Division are more than those that possess the aforementioned grades. Some people were saying they can’t bring the grade below that because of population, don’t you know how many students do seek for admission through JAMB and how many do successfully gain admission? The government should bring down the point bearable for an average student, for instance, students with 2.50 CGPA should be eligible.

Though, I am 4.0+ student, but, that does not mean I should support the cause for the federal government to require only students with 4.0+ for the awards. As opposed to opinions I received from fellow students before we write the scholarship screening at FGC, Kano State, I stood firm on my opinion that a scholarship award from the federal government must be entitled to by average students if not all. And the question that struck my mind was how many of those that set up the scholarship requirements or those that will conduct the screening exercise for us possess 4.0?

Ideally, there is not supposed to be provision

On reaching the screening center, I thought we would be treated like people who came to write examinations, the reverse was the case. We line up and write our names and verify our credentials in more than 3 different places. As solemn students, we arrived at the screening venue (Federal Government College, Kano State), before 9:00 am, but tactlessly, we wrote the exam after 5pm, while others inclusive of all postgraduate students were asked to come back the following day. Conventionally, scholarship programmes at far distances do feature compensation of transport fare, even if you fail the test, a typical example of NNPC/TOTAL Scholarship programmes.

May I confess to you that the examination was a muddle? 2 students shared a question paper at our center here, what a vexation? This is somehow witty and of course, made it known that the examination is nothing to go by for if it will be; maybe it would have been more organized and well scheduled.

We wrote the examination but we don’t know our fate, because we did not receive any text message or mail revealing our scores for us. The exams and the results are for us and not for the officials, as such, we supposed to know how performances, else, they are planning something malevolent.

If any official should remove, amend or change some data of students, to personalized accounts, no one will know for the reasons stated in the first paragraph of this article.

The scholarship programme suffers lack information, right from the time of registration, no communication no information has been passed to those that register for it, as such, students keep asking one another; how much is the award? Have you received alert? When will alert enter? Those in other regions, have they received their awards? All these and so many others are questions people keep asking themselves.

I employ anyone reading this to share it, so that some of the recommendations if not all may be effected. Thanks for reading, God bless you as you share.

Comrade Usman Haruna,

08104772885

Editor, www.themedia.com.ng.