School fees hike: BUK secures scholarship for 500 indigent students
The Vice Chancellor of Bayero University Kano (BUK), Prof Sagir Adamu-Abbas, has said that notable politicians and wealthy individuals have provided funds to assist 500 students by giving them scholarships as a measure to assist them settle their registration fees monitored by myschoolnews
This is just as Adamu-Abbas disclosed that the cost of running the university is beyond imagination as they spent over N100 million on running costs monthly.
Adamu- Abbas, who stated this on Thursday, while speaking with the correspondents’ chapel of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ)stated that the university has got funds to assist less privileged students in the university by securing scholarships for 500 students who are finding it difficult to pay.
According to him, “the scholarship was received from politicians and philanthropists in the state such as Sen.Rufa’i Hanga who sponsored 200 students and A. A Rano sponsored 100 students among others and promised to consult more of his friends to sponsor more students.
“We are fully aware of the condition of our people, most people are not financially comfortable which is why it took us over six months to come up with a figure which is the minimum required to provide services to the student.”
He added that going by the recent increment of the registration fees introduced by the universities, added that ” our is well cheaper when compared with other universities within the north and other universities across the country.
“We did not increase the registration fees to make money. We are trying our best to make life easier for our students by widening the scope to allow students to attend classes before registration,” Abbas said
He, however, said the University also introduced welfare packages for their staff such as non-interest loans from Microfinance banks payable within six months.
“Other incentives introduced to cushion the effect of the increase in fuel price that has caused the high price of commodities, were provision foodstuffs, shuttle buses, bicycle loans for junior staff payable within nine months at a cheaper rate.”
He then hinted that the state government delegation sent by the state governor Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf came and met the university management and discussed fully well how to assist students with the registration fees
Adamu-Abbas, therefore said that the management of the University will review the deadline for closure for the 2023/2024 academic session.
He then noted that the university considers Journalists as important and relevant to the development of any nation.
He also disclosed that the university equally introduced a kind of job scheme for students, whereby they were engaged to render some services to the university and they were paying N15,000 monthly
“This does not affect their normal learning because it does not take much of their time as some were to clean some surroundings or render certain minus service within the university and got paid at the end of the month.”
He hinted that at the initial stage when this was introduced over 2,000 students applied, while 120 of them got the offer, promising to jack up the numbers very soon, all these are to assist students who were facing financial constraint
Responding, the Chairman Correspondent Chapel, Alhaji Aminu Garko, commended BUK’s efforts for providing education in Nigeria.
“We talk of BUK because of the reality on the ground where personalities produced by the institution are greatly contributing to the development of the country.
Garko reiterated the chapel’s determination in partnering with the institution in promoting and disseminating news aimed at portraying the good work to attract more people to tap the resources provided by the institution.