Education
SOLOMON Bonu, Special Adviser to Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos Lagos State on Tourism, Arts and Culture, has offered scholarships to 200 indigenous Badagry students in the state’s institutions of higher learning.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the institutions are Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo; Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH) and Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education (AOCOED).
Bonu said that 100 newly-admitted students from LASU benefited from the initiative, alongside 50 students from LASPOTECH and AOCOED respectively.
According to the special adviser, the award is to complement the efforts of the state governor on his policy statement on education in Lagos.
“This is to give a sense of belonging to students of higher institutions in Badagry as a whole.
“We have just given 200 students for now; we are going to continue the second batch very soon.
“Then, we will move to Ojo and Ajegunle, and give the same award to students there too,” he said.
The governor’s aide noted that the idea behind the Bonu Solomon Saanu Education Support Initiative was to assist the newly-admitted Badagry natives to pay their tuition.
“The N25,000 tuition fee in LASU is too high for some parents to afford despite the fact that LASU is the cheapest University in Nigeria.
“It is a pity that some parents can’t afford it; consequently, some students gain admission and opt-out.
“Today, I have spent millions of naira to pay the tuition fees of 200 students in Badagry, who just gained admission to LASU, LASPOTECH, and AOCOED.
“The cheque of N25,000 will be given to 100 LASU students, while N21,000 will go to 50 students in LASPOTECH and another 50 in AOCOED,” he said.
Paul Thovoethin, the Chairman, Screening Committee of the scholarship, said that they put up an online advert for the award.
According to Thovoethin, an Associate Professor of Comparative Studies, LASU, one of the criteria for selecting the beneficiaries is that you must be a new student in those institutions, and a native of Badagry.
“After this set, we will soon start the second batch because we discovered that there are still many students of these institutions who cannot afford the fees because of the economic situation in the country,” he said.
Adeolu Agoro, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), commended Bonu for the gesture and urged the students to encourage him to do more.
Miss Mausi Avosegamu, a student of Mass Communication, LASU, who was one of the beneficiaries, said the award would go a long way in assisting them.
According to her, the gesture will make it easy for the beneficiaries to pay their fees as freshers.
She thanked Bonu for his gesture and prayed that God would continue to replenish him financially. (NAN)
– Jan. 16, 2020 @ 16:39 GMT |
Tags: Lagos Special Adviser gives scholarships to 200 Badagry natives
