By Usman Aliyu
Ilorin – Dr Biola Adimula, President, Commonwealth Scholars and Fellowship Alumni Association of Nigeria (COSFAN) says only 20 out of 40 Commonwealth scholarship slots available to Nigeria are filled annually.
Adimula told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sideline of the association’s one-day symposium on Thursday in Ilorin that half of commonwealth slots available to the country were wasted every year due to inadequate information.
She said that the forum was organised to sensitise students on how to access and benefit from the United Kingdom Scholarship Schemes in order to enhance education sector in Nigeria.
According to her, the association has put in place scholarship mentorship committee to sensitise students in 36 selected universities in the six geopolitical zones in the country.
“In pursuit of the association’s main objective of enhancement of scholarship education for Nigerians in the United Kingdom, the association has been working closely with the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission, UK through the British Council in Nigeria and the Federal Scholarship Board.
“Recognising that Commonwealth had invested in the intellectual advancement of members in their respective professions and in the spirit of giving back to the society, we decided to put in place scholarship mentorship committee.
“It is our hope and aspiration that this event will give more enlightenment to deserving Nigerians to gain the scholarship opportunities,” she added.
Dr Azizat Amoloye-Adebayo, a 2007 beneficiary of the scheme, said six categories of the scholarship scheme were available to Nigeria.
She listed them as PhD scholarship, Split-site, Master’s, Shared Scholarships, Distance Learning and Commonwealth Professional Fellowships.
Amoloye-Adebayo urged the students to make use of the opportunities to study abroad.
She added that aside other requirements, the schemes were open only to graduates with First Class and Second Class Upper Divisions.
Declaring the symposium open, Vice Chancellor of University of Ilorin, Prof. Sulyman Abdulkareem, commended the association for making the useful information available to students.
Abdulkareem, who was represented by Mr Kunle Akogun, Director, Corporate Affairs Unit of the university, urged the association to make the sensitization exercise a continuous one.
(NAN)