ASUU Awards Scholarships to Outstanding UNILORIN Students

The University of Ilorin branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has recently presented scholarship awards worth a total of N700,000 to four outstanding students of the institution. This initiative is part of ASUU’s commitment to promoting education and ensuring that deserving students, particularly those facing financial challenges, receive the support they need to pursue their academic goals.

The scholarship recipients, Tijani Rukayat, Timothy Moses Tiya, Ofiku Mathew from the Optometrics department, and Salawudeen Babatunde from computer science, were recognized for their outstanding academic achievements. Tijani and Timothy received scholarships of N200,000 each, while Ofiku and Salawudeen were awarded N150,000 each.

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At the scholarship presentation ceremony, Dr. Alex Akanmu, the ASUU branch chairman at the University of Ilorin, emphasized the importance of providing grants rather than loans to students. He urged the federal government to consider making grants available to make education more affordable for indigent students, expressing concerns about the challenges students may face in repaying loans.

“I  think the federal government should think of grants to make education affordable rather than making it soft loans. If it were loans we gave them today, how are they going to pay back?”, he said.

Akanmu recounted an incident where one of the scholarship recipients struggled to secure transportation fare to attend the award presentation. This highlighted the financial difficulties that many students face, reinforcing ASUU’s commitment to supporting exceptional students in need.

The ASUU chairman explained that the scholarship program, initiated in 2018 with N100,000 awards, was later increased to N200,000. ASUU branches were given the flexibility to adjust the scholarship amounts based on their financial capabilities. Dr. Akanmu assured that this scholarship initiative would be an ongoing effort to contribute to the development of education and empower deserving students.

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Dr. Akanmu expressed the union’s commitment to monitoring the academic progress of the beneficiaries, while acknowledging the national leadership of ASUU for instituting the scholarship awards. He urged the scholarship recipients to justify their selection by excelling in their academic pursuits.