The Lagos government says it approved and disbursed N849,555,000 in scholarships and bursaries to 10,066 students in its tertiary institutions.

Commissioner for Tertiary Education Tolani Sule gave the figures on Tuesday at the government’s 2024 ministerial briefing held at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, Alausa, Ikeja.

Mr Sule reiterated Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s commitment to providing effective and affordable education to residents.

“Not going on strike when all other tertiary institutions are on strike is a feat that we pride ourselves of. This is to further show that our able governor does not pay lip service to the agenda. 

“We know it will keep getting better. We are proud of all our institutions. Lagos State University is the oldest institution, but new institutions are catching up,” he said.

The ministerial briefing began on April 24.

It will continue until May 29, with ministries giving accounts of their stewardships in the last year of Mr Sanwo-Olu’s second term in office.

“The sum of N335,600,000 was approved for 1591 as 2022/2023 Scholarship Award for undergraduates and PhD recipients as well as the 2022/2023 Governor’s Discretionary Awards. Also, N513,955,000 was approved for 6884 bursary awards for undergraduates and law school students.

“A total of N849,555,000.00 was released in 2023 for 8,475, making a total of 10,066 beneficiaries of the scholarship and bursary,” he said.

Mr Sule said one way the state government was working to ensure that students were encouraged to read widely was by rehabilitating and digitalising 300 secondary schools and 40 public libraries.

“The reading culture isn’t what it used to be. This is why the administration deemed it necessary to ensure that students have access to these facilities. When we digitalised these libraries, we dedicated power generating sets.  

“Monthly, there is N250,000 set aside and given to these secondary schools with digitalised libraries so they would run seamlessly. When policies are made, we consider how it will succeed; so, this was well planned out because we have a target,” he said.

On admission age, the commissioner said 16 years remained the admissible age for all Lagos State-owned tertiary institutions.

“If your age is below 16, you are not eligible,” he said. 

(NAN)