In the pursuit of competent human capital, nine of the 19 northern states of the federation have sent 1,095 students on scholarships to foreign universities in China, Cyprus, and India.
Other locations include Turkey, Sudan, Malaysia, China, Russia, France, Scotland, Saudi Arabia, Chad, Niger, Italy, London, Cameroon, the United States (US), Ukraine, and some European Union (EU) countries.
Most of the students, who are studying sciences, engineering, and medical-related courses, are in China, India, and Cyprus.
According to data made available to LEADERSHIP Sunday by the states that responded to our correspondents’ inquiries, Borno State leads with 418 students, followed by Jigawa State with 200 students, while Kogi State occupies the bottom of the list with one student.
Benue, Kano, Kaduna, Kebbi, and Gombe are among the states that declined to provide our correspondents with information on the number of their indigenes on overseas scholarships and the associated costs.
The Gombe State Commissioner for Education, Professor Aishatu Maigari, sidestepped the question, stating that she is not in charge of higher education.
Our correspondents were unable to ascertain the number of students on foreign scholarships from Kano State due to a lack of response from senior government officials.
When contacted, Sanusi Kofar Naisa, the spokesperson of the Ministry for Higher Education, and Sanusi Bature, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, declined to comment.
Bature did not respond to calls and text messages sent to his WhatsApp and phone lines, while Naisa promised to contact our reporter but failed to do so as of the time this report was filed.
It was learnt that the Zamfara State government has 110 students on scholarships in India and Cyprus.
The Executive Secretary of the State Scholarships Board, Professor Rasheedah Liman, named the courses of study as Computer Science, Pharmacy, Petroleum Engineering, Biomedical Science, Physiotherapy, and Radiology.
She explained that Petroleum Engineering has the highest number of students, and that Cyprus hosts the greatest number of students from Zamfara.
Liman said that initially, there were 200 students sponsored by the state abroad, including some in Sudan, but the recent war in the country forced 90 of them to return home.
According to her, the returnee students have been placed in various institutions to continue their studies within the country.
She added that the present administration had problems with students in Cyprus, as the previous administration failed to settle their two-year debt (accommodation and tuition fees) amounting to over N1 billion.
A breakdown of the students from Jigawa State shows 185 are studying medicine in Cyprus, with nine in India, at a cost of N4.5 billion in 2024.
The Executive Secretary of the State Scholarships Board, Alhaji Sa’idu Magaji, said that as of last week, some of the foreign students returned to Nigeria, including one from India who graduated with a First-Class degree in engineering.
In Katsina State, the Executive Secretary of the State Scholarships Board, Aminu Salisu Tsauri, said to enhance the state’s human capital base, students were encouraged to pursue higher education in various fields.
As of September 2024, the state government had sponsored 109 students abroad under its special foreign scholarship programme. They include an initial batch of 41 students and another 68 students.
The students are pursuing their studies in Egypt and China. The first batch of 41 students was sent to Egypt, while the second batch of 68 students are in China.
The scholarship scheme focuses on critical fields such as Medicine (MBBS), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Biotechnology. These disciplines were selected to address the state’s specific developmental needs.
Between 2017 and 2023, the government spent over N3.2 billion in scholarships and allowances for 260,899 students in tertiary institutions, both domestically and internationally. This figure encompasses various academic sessions during that period.
In Nasarawa State, 92 students are studying at various institutions overseas on state government scholarships.
LEADERSHIP Sunday reports that the statistics cover from 2019 to December 2024.
The affected students are studying or have studied various courses, including law, medicine and surgery, nursing, petroleum engineering, aviation engineering, medical laboratory science, clinical psychology, and French.
The countries of study include Turkey, Sudan, Malaysia, China, Russia, France, Scotland, Saudi Arabia, Chad, Niger, Italy, India, London, and Cameroon.
Among the courses, French has the highest number, with 43 students.
The Executive Secretary of the State Scholarships Board, Hajiya Sa’adatu Yahya, said the state government under Governor Abdullahi Sule had paid N253,703,915.68 in bursaries to students studying abroad from 2019 to December 2024.
Kwara State currently has 15 individuals on scholarships in the United States (US), United Kingdom (UK), European Union (EU) nations, and Russia, according to the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Rafiu Ajakaye.
He said, “For instance, I know of our scholars at Oxford University (UK), Cambridge University (UK), University College London (UK), and Stanford University (United States).”
Ajakaye said the courses of study are Engineering, Law, Computer Science, and Medicine.
Available information indicated that there are only five students of Sokoto State origin on state scholarships abroad.
The five are the ones yet to graduate from Integral University, India, out of the 557 students studying medical-related courses on scholarships during the last administration.
The state government had paid about N460 million as the balance for the indigenes studying in the university.
Annually, the Bauchi State government sends at least 50 students to China to study programmes on scholarships.
The Permanent Secretary at the Bauchi State Scholarship Board, Barrister Hussaini Saraki, said the next contingent of students to China on scholarships are processing their travelling documents.
Saraki said, “As I am speaking to you, approval has been granted, and screening has been conducted to take the next batch of 50 Bauchi students to China. These students are now at the preparatory stage, having their visas, other relevant travelling documents, and police character clearance.”
“Governor Bala Mohammed is the first from the Northeast zone to send students to China on scholarships, though Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe are also on the list,” he said.
The Adamawa State government is currently preparing 100 students for China on scholarships.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Hajiya Aisha Umar, revealed this to our correspondent in Yola, the state capital.
However, Umar did not disclose the amount involved. She said the sponsorships were in line with the state’s free education programme.
She added that the new students being sent to China followed the successful completion of studies by 60 others in India, where they studied medicine.
Between 2024 and 2025, the Borno State government is sponsoring 418 students on scholarships to universities in India, Malaysia, and China to study science, engineering, arts, and social sciences at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
The Executive Secretary of the State Scholarship Board, Mr Bala Isa, said about N2.325 billion was disbursed for undergraduate programmes, while N2.691 billion was spent on postgraduate studies.
Isa said that while India hosts 149 students with doctoral degrees (PhDs), Master’s in Science (MSc), and Medical Degrees (MBBS), China follows with 103 students in Medicine (MBBS) and 19 studying Medicine (MBBS) at Suez University, Egypt.
In Kogi State, only one student, Miss Favour Oluwatimilayo Toyin, is currently on the government’s scholarship abroad.
The Commissioner for Education, Hon Wemi Jones, said Toyin is studying in Poland.
There is no exact number of students from Kebbi State on scholarship abroad.
An official said the state government sponsored students to study medicine, engineering, and modern technology in India, Ukraine, and Sudan.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry for Higher Education, Hussani Zuru, said billions of naira were spent on the students who are under supervision by the officials of the ministry.
The Kaduna State government said that unlike in the past when scholarships were awarded to urban students only, foreign scholarships are now given to students in rural areas.
Officials said medical and engineering students were mostly considered for foreign scholarships in the state.
The executive secretary of the Kaduna State Scholarship and Loans Board, Prof. Yahya Sale Ibrahim, who did not state the number of beneficiaries or the amount spent on them, simply said in the past, foreign scholarship beneficiaries were mostly students from urban local governments, but now both children of the poor and rich can benefit.
Prof. Ibrahim said Governor Uba Sani administration had expanded scholarships to remote local governments and those from humble backgrounds without lowering standards due to his inclusive policies.
In Niger State, the government last week conducted an aptitude test to select 1,000 prospective candidates for foreign scholarships.
According to the Commissioner for Basic Education and Secondary Education, Dr Hadiza Asabe Mohammed, the successful candidates will be sent to study agriculture, science, and technology-based courses.
Similarly, the Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Abdullahi Adamu Mamagi, disclosed that 24,107 students have registered on the portal, 15,400 males and 8,707 females enrolled in various tertiary institutions across the country.
This comes as many students from the state studying in China, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Morocco, and Egypt are struggling to cope with their school expenses, with their parents seeking help for their children in their final year.
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