The University of Ilorin branch of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has presented scholarships worth N700, 000 to four exceptional students of the university.
Two of the beneficiaries, Tijani Rukayat and Timothy Moses Tiya were awarded scholarships of N200,000 each while Ofiku Mathew of the Optometrics department and Salawudeen Babatunde of computer science got N150, 000 each.
At the presentation of the scholarships to the beneficiaries, the ASUU branch chairman, Dr. Alex Akanmu, urged the federal government to make grants rather than loans available to students so that indigent students can have access to education.
“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.
The ASUU chairman recalled a case of one of the beneficiaries who was contacted to come forward for the scholarship award and was struggling to get transport fare to the institution.
Akanmu said the scholarship scheme which started since 2018 would be a continuous one as part of the contributions of ASUU to promote scholarships by ensuring that indigent students who are exceptional in academics are supported to realise their dreams.
He said the national leadership of ASUU instituted the scholarship awards with N100, 000 and later upgraded it to N200, 000 with a directive to branches to do same depending on their financial capabilities.
He said the union would continue to monitor the academic progress of the beneficiaries, urging them to justify their selection.
