Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal has approved the release of N900 million for the payment of tuition fees and upkeep allowances to students of Sokoto indigenes studying in local and foreign tertiary institutions covering academic years 2015, 2016 and 2017.
This followed the submission of the report of the committee on the verification of students entitled for scholarship to the Governor last week Monday.
The committee, led by Ambassador Shehu Wurno, said a total number of 14,532 students were verified and certified to benefit from government scholarship in the state.
Addressing reporters in his office Tuesday, the state Commissioner for Higher Education, Sahabi Isa Gada, said the completion of the committee’s report has standardized the list of students under government scholarship and only verified students will benefit from the payments.
He said already, the ministry has set up a contact team that will ensure smooth payment of the students and in record time.
“From the submission of the committee, the sum of N688,174,579, being registration and upkeep allowance, is being owed for the current 2016/2017 academic session. The balance of the funds released is for the payment of backlog of entitlements of our foreign students.
“The welfare of our students is a matter of priority to government. We’ve contacted their representatives and their schools and payment will start after necessary procedure is completed.
“So for this payment, both local and foreign students will benefit. In fact, we are paying backlog of entitlements to foreign students to ensure all of them are up to date in their obligations to their schools,” Gada added.