The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Ebonyi State University (EBSU) chapter, has given scholarships worth N400,000 to two final-year medicine and surgery students.
At a ceremony in Abakaliki, Dr. Okechukwu Igwenyi, the ASUU Chairman of the EBSU chapter, presented the scholarship awards to the recipients, Onwe Emmanuella C. and Chukwuemeka Ogar P.
While presenting the cheques, Igwenyi said the scholarship recipients were selected through a thorough and transparent process based on specific criteria.
He also used the occasion to correct a widespread misunderstanding, asserting that people frequently mistakenly believe that ASUU only concentrates on strikes and industrial actions.
He said: “We are here to inform the public that apart from fighting for improved funding and protecting the autonomy of universities, we also care for students by providing annual scholarship awards to successful indigent students from all the public universities in Nigeria.
“There is no gainsaying the fact that the ruling class is surreptitiously making education very expensive and unaffordable by common Nigerians.
“School fees, meals, consumables, and other sundry expenses have become so expensive and beyond the reach of a common man such that students who refuse to drop out have been pushed into unthinkable ventures to stay on campus and acquire the necessary university education.
“The terrible, excruciating economic conditions students and parents are subjected to have occasioned a high rate of dropouts among diligent and intelligent students due to poverty and frustration.
Igwenyi lamented the dire state of student welfare, security, and the struggling national economy, which has forced some students to seek alternative, often distracting, means of income to cover their educational expenses and basic necessities.
He said: “Currently, most students do not know what bursary award by states and local governments, as it were, is all about and possibly do not understand that an ordinary student can win a scholarship or grant on merit.
“Our scholarship award scheme has been running for years, and we provide research support presently to the tune of N500,000 as a Ph.D. research grant to selected members of ASUU in all public universities in Nigeria. Three of our members have benefited from that scheme.
“Beyond our members, we also have our students in our plan. It is, therefore, imperative to mention now that over the years and as part of our Corporate Social Responsibility, ASUU National Executive Council has been dispensing monies from our check-off deductions and offer the same as scholarship grants to selected indigent students across the country based on some stringent but transparently determinable parameters.”
As a result, ASUU-EBSU has consistently nominated deserving students from its university over the past few years, and, remarkably, most of its nominees have been successful in securing scholarships and awards.
Overjoyed by the news of her scholarship award, Ms. Onwe Emmanuella expressed her gratitude, saying, “I’m thrilled and relieved after waiting for so long to hear the results of the screening.”
“The N200,000 award will go a long way in covering my outstanding school fees, which have been a significant burden for me.
“This scholarship has lifted a huge weight off my shoulders, and I’m now able to focus on my studies without the added stress of financial worries.'”
The second beneficiary, Ogar Peter, was filled with emotion, saying, “I am struggling to put into words the depth of my gratitude.
“I’m deeply thankful to the ASUU-EBSU chapter for this scholarship, which will significantly alleviate my financial burdens and enable me to meet some of my essential needs in school, allowing me to focus on my academic pursuits with greater ease.”
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